SACRAMENTO—The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region on Monday led a delegation to the California State Capitol to take part in the Legislature’s official commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, observed through the passage of House Resolution 25 (HR 25) in the State Assembly and Senate Resolution 33 (SR 33) in the State Senate.
HR 25 was introduced by Assemblymember John Harabedian (AD-41) while SR 33 was led by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (SD-25). Both measures received overwhelming bipartisan support, with a total of 111 legislators — 75 Assemblymembers and 36 Senators — sponsoring or voting in favor of the resolutions.
This year’s commemoration was organized by the California Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation, chaired by Assemblymember John Harabedian, which currently represents the largest bipartisan and bicameral coalition of pro-Armenian legislators in the history of the California Legislature.
The ANCA-WR delegation included Chair of the Board of Directors Oshin Harootoonian, Government Affairs Director Ruben Karapetian, Government Affairs Coordinator Sonia Meroian, and Northern California Coordinator Henry Aghajanov. The team attended the floor sessions of both chambers and met with key lawmakers and officers to advance legislative priorities for the Armenian community. The delegation was joined by representatives from the Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian Youth Federation, Homenetmen, Armenian Relief Society, Southern California Armenian Democrats, AGBU – Western Region, educators and students from Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School, and a broad coalition of Armenian-American constituents from across the state.
Advocates met with the offices of Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Senator Catherine Blakespear (SD-38), Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (SD-40), Senator Scott Wiener (SD-11), Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (AD-3), Assemblymember Tri Ta (AD-70), and Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (AD-28). Among the key legislative items highlighted were:
- AB 91, introduced by Assemblymember Harabedian, which aims to ensure greater equity in public services and funding for Californian-Armenians by adding Armenians to a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) category on all state-administered demographic data collection forms.
- SB 472, introduced by Senator Henry Stern, which would establish a dedicated Genocide Education Fund to support the development and implementation of genocide-related educational programming throughout school districts in California.
- AB 865, authored by Assemblymember Mark González, which would allocate state-funded grants for Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs that educational agencies offering Armenian DLI courses are eligible to apply for.
- AB 395, authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, which aims to ensure that state agencies, local agencies, and school districts avoid scheduling key events and academic milestones on major religious or cultural holidays.
Against the backdrop of Azerbaijan’s ongoing acts of aggression — including the unlawful detention of at least 23 Armenian hostages from Artsakh and the systematic destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage — delegates also called on lawmakers to explicitly reference the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh in all statements commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The ANCA-WR commends the California State Legislature for taking a clear and principled stance by including in this year’s bicameral resolutions an explicit recognition of the forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenians from Artsakh, Azerbaijan’s horrific war crimes, and the occupation of sovereign Armenian territory as part of a broader, coordinated effort to eliminate the Armenian people from their ancestral homeland.
“This day was a powerful reminder that the Armenian-American community is not only present in the halls of power but fully engaged in shaping the policies that affect our future,” said ANCA-WR Chair Oshin Harootoonian. “Whether addressing justice, recognition, education, or equity, our delegation made it clear that the fight for our community’s rights is ongoing, and we are here to be heard.”
H.R. 25 coauthors include Assemblymembers Harabedian, Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Mark González, Jeff Gonzalez, Hadwick, Haney, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ransom, Rivas, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Schiavo, Schultz, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, and Zbur.
S.R. 33 coauthors include Senators Pérez, Allen, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Durazo, Grove, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Ochoa Bogh, Richardson, Rubio, and Smallwood-Cuevas.
