MODEL BILLS

White Supremacists Are Terrorists Resolution

Summary: The White Supremacists Are Terrorists Resolution condemns violence and intimidation by white nationalist and neo-Nazi organizations and calls on law enforcement agencies to protect Americans from such groups in the same manner and with the same fervor used to protect us from other manifestations of terrorism.

Based on Illinois Senate Resolution 794 adopted August 13, 2017

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The tragic events that took place on August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia prove that white nationalism and neo-Nazism remain very real threats to social and  racial  progress;  and

WHEREAS, Throughout the course of our nation’s history, white nationalism has promoted intimidation and violent repression of individuals solely on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and immigration status;  and

WHEREAS, Today, white nationalism has attempted to reinvent itself, self-identifying as the “Alt-Right,” yet their present-day rhetoric and terrorism conjure painful memories of our nation’s past; and

WHEREAS, While free speech is a bedrock value for Americans, white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups promote agendas that are in irreconcilable conflict with our nation’s foundational principles of liberty and justice for all; 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, classism and ethnic eradication; and

WHEREAS, The white nationalist and neo-Nazi message of racial and social intolerance has led to senseless acts of violence that continue to terrorize members of ethnic and religious minority communities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE [LEGISLATURE/COUNCIL/COMMISSION] that we strongly denounce and oppose 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 we urge law enforcement to recognize these white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups as terrorist organizations, and to pursue the criminal elements of these domestic terrorist organizations in the same manner and with the same fervor used to protect the United States from other manifestations of terrorism; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this Resolution be delivered to the President of the United States, all members of the United States Congress, all members of [your state legislature], and [XXXXXX].