WHEREAS, The First Amendment of the United States Constitution
guarantees all Americans the right to freely practice their beliefs,
and the right to be free from the establishment of a state religion;
and
WHEREAS, April 2nd commemorates the Exodus, which has extended
beyond the Jewish faith to symbolize the larger principle that people
of all faiths, as well as people of no faith, are entitled to freedom
from persecution; and
WHEREAS, The world is aghast at the perverted, dehumanizing logic
behind the Holocaust, and any other acts of systematic genocide on the
basis of one's choice of doctrine or creed; and
WHEREAS, The grievous tragedy of September 11th emphasized the need
for moderation and tolerance between faiths, be that tolerance used to
solve the religious strife between Muslims and Jews in the Middle East,
the persecution that some Muslims have endured in the United States,
the persecution that Christians have endured in Sudan, the recurring
instances of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe, or any other
regional or international religious conflict; and
WHEREAS, People of all nations regret the needless loss of life
that resulted from the religious and ethnic conflict of the Indian
Partition, and condemn all other actions of the colonialist era that
have led to the arbitrary division of one people against another; and
WHEREAS, Courageous men and women of faith such as Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the
Dalai Lama, through their visionary leadership and measureless
compassion, nonviolently advocated and struggled for equity and
justice, becoming international icons for all those who revere the
inherent dignity of humanity, and who strive for peace;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington state House of
Representatives pause to honor the sacrifices of those who dedicated or
lost their lives in defense of religious liberty for all, and
acknowledge the crucial role that this liberty fills in the continuance
of any democratic society.