Bill Text: CA SCR6 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Iranian protests.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 62-17)
Status: (Passed) 2023-04-18 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 20, Statutes of 2023. [SCR6 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SCR6-Chaptered.html
Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 6
CHAPTER 20
Relative to Iranian protests.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
April 18, 2023.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 6, Umberg.
Iranian protests.
This measure would, among other things, proclaim that the Legislature stands in solidarity with the people of Iran in their fight for self-determination, their opposition to torture, and their resistance to the oppression of their personal liberties and condemns the violent acts against the Iranian people.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, On September 13, 2022, Mahsa Zhina Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Kurdistan Province, was arrested upon her arrival in Tehran, the Iranian capital city, by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s “morality police,” for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly in violation of Iran’s compulsory dress codes and subsequently died as a result of the brutality she suffered while in custody; and
WHEREAS, Mahsa Amini’s death sparked the first Iranian female-led revolution of our time, involving thousands of Iranian civilians, including teenagers, students, men, and women of all ages, taking to the streets and university campuses to protest the brutality and repression of the Iranian regime against its citizens and calling for human rights for its population of 84 million people; and
WHEREAS, The ongoing protest movement throughout Iran has resulted in thousands of arrests and hundreds of murders, including children, to extinguish the voices of journalists, artists, media figures, and members of the public who seek to amplify Iranian’s desire for personal freedoms; and
WHEREAS, Iranian authorities have sought to suppress freedom of speech and dissent by implementing violent repression of nonviolent protests, censorship of media and publications, restricting internet access, jailing journalists and activists for covering the protests, denying access to medical care as a punishment for participating in peaceful protests, imprisonment and torture for acts of civil disobedience, denying access to legal counsel of one’s choice, conducting sham trials, confirming death sentences for minor offenses or false accusations, and executing innocent protesters; and
WHEREAS, On September 22, 2022, the United States Department of State sanctioned Iran’s morality police and seven Iranian officials for alleged human rights abuses; and
WHEREAS, The Iranian regime has a long history of structural and legal discrimination against women, including barriers for women seeking justice against domestic violence, and for decades has detained and engaged in the ongoing persecution of women; and
WHEREAS, Despite that repression, protests have continued to expand in defense of basic freedoms and civil rights, for women’s rights, and for the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Iran, as echoed through the chants “zan, zendegi, azadi” (woman, life, freedom); and
WHEREAS, Across the world, thousands of marchers continue to demonstrate in support of the people of Iran and to send a message that their bravery in risking their lives to dismantle the status quo enforced by a fanatical, theocratic regime is not in vain; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Organization for Civil Registration, the United States has the highest number of Iranians outside of Iran, close to 1,000,000 people, with over one-half residing in California. Most Iranian Americans reside in the greater Los Angeles area, which has been affectionately referred to as “Tehrangeles” or “Little Persia” among Iranian Americans; and
WHEREAS, Iranians have made important contributions as Californians in the fields of finance, technology, law, medicine, education, sports, media, the arts, the military, and government; and
WHEREAS, On January 26, 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 7, which commends the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men demonstrating in Iran by a vote of 420 to 1; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature stands in solidarity with the people of Iran in their fight for self-determination, their opposition to torture, and their resistance to the oppression of their personal liberties; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature condemns the violent acts that are being perpetrated against the Iranian people, particularly against women and children, and honors the life and legacy of Mahsa Zhina Amini by urging the international community to publicly condemn violence by the Iranian regime against peaceful protesters and to continue to apply pressure on the Islamic Republic to ensure basic human rights for all its citizens; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature supports the various sanctions of the United States Department of State issued on Iran’s morality police, Iranian leaders and entities responsible for human rights abuses, censorship, and prison abuses, as well as sanctions issued by the United States Department of Treasury on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cooperative Foundation and individuals connected to human rights abuses against peaceful protesters; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature encourages continued efforts by the United States to respond to the Islamic Republic’s repression of protests, including an effort to expand unrestricted internet access and additional sanctions on individuals responsible for human rights abuses in Iran; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
