[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 31 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 31

Condemning the terrorist attacks in Paris, offering condolences to the 
   families of the victims, expressing solidarity with the people of 
       France, and reaffirming fundamental freedom of expression.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 14, 2015

 Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois (for himself and Mr. Blumenauer) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the terrorist attacks in Paris, offering condolences to the 
   families of the victims, expressing solidarity with the people of 
       France, and reaffirming fundamental freedom of expression.

Whereas, on January 7, 2015, armed gunmen violently attacked the offices of the 
        French newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing 12 people and injuring 
        at least 11 others;
Whereas, on January 9, 2015, two suspects in the Charlie Hebdo attack were 
        killed after taking hostages in a printing firm and firing at police;
Whereas, on January 9, 2015, another gunman perpetrated an anti-Semitic attack 
        on Hyper Cacher, a kosher supermarket, killing four of 19 hostages 
        before French police stormed the building and rescued the surviving 
        hostages;
Whereas President of the Republic of France Francois Hollande condemned these 
        events as a terrorist attack on the French Republic as a whole and 
        called for a day of national mourning to honor the lives of the 
        courageous political cartoonists, columnists, police officers, and 
        others who were killed and injured;
Whereas the Republic of France is America's oldest ally, and the people of the 
        United States owe France an eternal debt of gratitude for our 
        independence and freedom;
Whereas the people and Governments of the Republic of France and the United 
        States have stood shoulder to shoulder throughout history to defend our 
        shared democratic ideals and values;
Whereas the people of the Republic of France have always expressed solidarity 
        with the people of the United States, including following the terrorist 
        attacks of September 11, 2001, which claimed the lives of thousands of 
        innocent civilians in the United States;
Whereas United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, together with the 
        President of the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations 
        Security Council, has expressed outrage over these cold-blooded and 
        unjustifiable terrorist attacks in Paris;
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations 
        General Assembly on December 10, 1948, holds that ``everyone has the 
        right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom 
        to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart 
        information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers'';
Whereas the show of solidarity from hundreds of thousands of people in the 
        Republic of France, the United States, and worldwide under the banner 
        ``Je suis Charlie'' (``I am Charlie'') makes known that the 
        international community of nations stands together to reaffirm freedom 
        of expression and to denounce terrorism;
Whereas Muslim majority nations around the world, including Jordan, Saudi 
        Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Malaysia, Morocco, Iran, Lebanon, Indonesia, 
        Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, and Qatar, and leading institutions such as 
        the Arab League, Egypt's al-Azhar University and the Organization of 
        Islamic Cooperation have all condemned and rejected these terrorist 
        attacks as contrary to the Islamic faith;
Whereas on Sunday, January 11, 2015, more than 40 world leaders and 1,000,000 
        people gathered to march in Paris honoring the victims of the terrorist 
        attacks;
Whereas the outpouring of support from people around the world reveals that an 
        attack on the free press in the Republic of France is an attack on human 
        liberties; and
Whereas the people and Government of the United States stand in solidarity with 
        our French allies and renew our common support for democracy and 
        freedom, including freedom of the press and freedom of religion: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the terrorist attacks and cowardly murders at 
        the offices of the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo and kosher 
        market Hyper Cacher in Paris;
            (2) expresses its deepest condolences to the families of 
        the victims of these attacks and to the Republic of France;
            (3) expresses our solidarity with the people of the 
        Republic of France and pays tribute to our shared values, 
        ideals, and liberties, including the freedom of thought and 
        expression and freedom of the press;
            (4) recognizes the statements from Muslim majority nations 
        and leaders across the world that terrorist attacks purportedly 
        conducted in the name of Islam such as the attacks in Paris are 
        an affront to the Muslim faith; and
            (5) reaffirms our support for the Government of France to 
        bring the perpetrators of this violence to justice and to 
        prevent future attacks.
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