[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 20, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S290-S291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 29--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

  Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Risch, Mr. 
Perdue, Mr. Udall, Mr. Isakson, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Coons, 
Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
Markey, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Flake, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, 
and Mr. Burr) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
and agreed to:

                               S. Res. 29

       Whereas, on January 7, 2015, armed gunmen violently 
     attacked the offices of the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo in 
     Paris,

[[Page S291]]

     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 Senate--
       (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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