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Urge Governor Newsom to Veto Legislative Bill AB 1801

Urge Governor Newsom to Veto Legislative Bill AB 1801

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This petition has been created by Turkish C. and may not represent the views of the Avaaz community.
Turkish C.
started this petition to
Californian Turks, Turkish Americans & Friends
Californian Turks, Turkish Americans & Friends: Our change.org petition on this subject was removed without an explanation. While we are trying to get it back up, we need your help again. Please sign this new petition to show your support and forward the link to your network. California Governor Gavin Newsom is scheduled to make a decision on September 30, 2022. PLEASE ACT URGENTLY, time is of the essence.

YES, YOUR SUPPORT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE. EVERY CALL, EMAIL and PETITION IS TRACKED AND GETS OUR VOICES HEARD AS CONSTITUENTS AND TAX-PAYING RESIDENTS.

tl;dr:

The state of California is getting ready to pass a legislative bill (AB 1801, see [1] below) to declare April 24 a state holiday, namely “Genocide Remembrance Day”, which will have a significant negative effect on the Turkish American community in California. This bill is misinformed, biased, unlawful, financially burdensome, and most importantly, disruptive to peace and inclusivity of California. This petition is a plea to protect the Turkish minority’s desire to live safely here in California and the US at large without hate and descrimination. It is NOT originated from a political stand. Please show your support by signing this petition and urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to veto this bill.

Below are some additional pieces of information if you’d like to learn more.

What will happen if the bill is signed?

If the bill is signed, a portion of our tax dollars will go towards “creating awareness” around the alleged Armenian Genocide, despite the fact that there is no reputable source to support these claims. As a result:

  • Hate crimes towards Turks and Turkish Americans in California will increase. This is a very real concern that the Turkish community in Los Angeles is dealing with on a daily basis.
  • Californian children will grow up learning a false version of Turkish - Armenian history. What they learn at an impressionable young age will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
  • Turkish American children will become targets of bullying and harassment, they will need to fight against discrimination and prejudice as they are growing up.

What does the bill state?

The text of the bill states that: “The Legislature finds and declares that Genocide Remembrance Day would be a day for all to reflect on past and present genocides, but especially those that have felt the impact of these atrocities and groups that have found refuge in California, including, but not limited to, the Holocaust, Holodomor, and the Genocides of the Armenian, Assyrian, Greek, Cambodian, and Rwandan communities. Genocide Remembrance Day would be observed annually on April 24, also known as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, during the week the state of California traditionally recognizes Genocide Awareness Week.”

Why is the bill misinformed, unlawful, financially burdensome and disruptive to peace? (compiled from Assembly of Turkish American Associations - ATAA [2] and Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs [3] websites)

  • This bill ignores the facts. Demographic studies prove that prior to World War I, fewer than 1.5 million Armenians lived in the entire Ottoman Empire. Thus, allegations that more than 1.5 million Armenians from eastern Anatolia died must be false. Armenian evidence of the alleged genocide is of diminished value, having been derived from dubious and prejudicial sources. Additionally, this bill ignores the 2.5 million Ottoman Muslims who were killed during the intercommunal warfare during this period.

  • This bill ignores the law. Genocide is defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, to which the United States is a party, and which therefore binds the 50 states under the Supremacy Clause. In 1985, the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights considered a report that referred to the Armenian case as genocide, but did not accept it. In 2001 and 2007, the UN declared that it had not accepted the Armenian case as genocide. In 2015, The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Turks have the right to deny that a massacre of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire’s rule in 1915 was a genocide and the decision should be left to historians or a competent court and should not be made by politicians.

  • This bill would place an inappropriate financial burden to the State of California. Analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Office for the ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS notes that by adding a new state holiday would create significant general fund cost pressures, likely in the millions of dollars , to create negotiable paid holiday for eligible state workers and significant reimbursable mandate costs to the extent school districts need to adjust their calendars and summer work hours, resulting in local bargaining implications for their classified employees.

  • The perpetuation of a one-sided and deliberately gruesome “Armenian Genocide” allegation has provoked a chilling level of violence in the United States by Armenians against Turks and Turkish Americans . Scores have died; many have been injured, while academics and scholars have been repeatedly threatened when they state anything that does not support the Armenian viewpoint.

Our plea to California Governor Gavin Newsom:

There is a Turkish population of 50,000 to 100,000 who currently reside in California. The objective of this petition is to urge Governor Newsom to not jeopardize this sizable population’s desire to live peacefully and without hate in California. Veto AB01801. The California State Assembly is not a historical commission that can make a judgment on this highly controversial and emotional issue. We urget Governor Newsom to please follow the UN and international law on this matter and do not allow for etho-centric biased policy to enter into California’s beautiful mission of keeping the state a diverse, inclusive state for all.

Sources:
[1] https://openstates.org/ca/bills/20212022/AB1801/
[2] http://www.ataa.org
[3] https://www.mfa.gov.tr/the-armenian-allegation-of-genocide-the-issue-and-the-facts.en.mfa


Posted (Updated )