R 341 |
2019 -- S 0829 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/05/2019 |
S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
DENOUNCING AND OPPOSING WHITE NATIONALIST AND NEO-NAZI GROUPS |
Introduced By: Senators Nesselbush, Bell, Miller, Goldin, and Quezada |
Date Introduced: April 30, 2019 |
WHEREAS, White nationalist groups espouse an ideology of white supremacy and the |
"alleged" inferiority of non-whites. They believe that white identity should be a paramount |
principle in the governing of western nations and they support non-democratic means to bring this |
evil philosophy to the forefront; and |
WHEREAS, Throughout the course of our nation's history, white nationalism has |
supported and promoted coercion and violent repression of individuals solely on the basis of their |
race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and immigration status. They have attempted to |
reinvent themselves, self-identifying as the "alt-right," yet their present-day rhetoric and terrorism |
conjure painful memories of our nation's past; and; and |
WHEREAS, In August and October of 2018, hate groups organized by Resist Marxism |
attempted to hold rallies at Rhode Island's State House in order to promote racist and white |
supremacy agendas that are in irreconcilable conflict with our State's and our Nation's |
foundational principles of liberty and justice for all. Counter protesters were organized by Ocean |
State Against Hate, a local antifascist coalition. At both events, as is often the case with these hate |
group's demonstrations, the rallies turned violent and police were forced to disperse everyone; |
and |
WHEREAS, The white nationalists and neo-Nazi message of racial, ethnic, and social |
intolerance has led to senseless acts of violence that continue to terrorize members of racial and |
religious minority communities; and |
WHEREAS, Across the country, shocking and appalling events in Charlottesville, |
Virginia, on August 12, 2017, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2018, and in Poway, |
California on April 27, 2019, confirm that white nationalism and neo-Nazism remain very real |
threats to social and racial progress; and |
WHEREAS, In Rhode Island, in May of 2016, a Pawtucket synagogue was defaced by a |
swastika, in February of 2018, racist flyers were distributed in the City of Providence, and in |
December of 2018, racist stickers were affixed to signs in Johnston. As each of these events came |
to light, politicians, religious leaders, community activists and concerned residents came together |
to denounce the cowardice and to stand against the racism and hate; and |
WHEREAS, Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams on the principle of religious |
tolerance and is the home to America's oldest synagogue, the Touro Synagogue, in Newport: and |
WHEREAS, White nationalism and neo-Nazism are continuing to grow as menaces to |
societal order that seek to reignite social animosities, reverse improvements in race relations, |
divide the nation, and foment hatred that leads to ethnic eradication; now, therefore be it |
RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |
hereby strongly denounces and opposes the totalitarian impulses, violent terrorism, xenophobic |
biases, and bigoted ideologies that are promoted by white nationalists and neo-Nazis; and be it |
further |
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President of |
the United States, the members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, and the Honorable |
Gina M. Raimondo, Governor of the State of Rhode Island. |
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LC002455/SUB A |
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