Honoring the victims of the March 15, 2019, shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 250 Honoring the victims of the March 15, 2019, shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2023 Ms. OMAR (for herself, Mr. CARSON, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mrs. WAT- SON COLEMAN, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. CROCK- ETT, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. TONKO, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CASAR, and Mr. FROST) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Honoring the victims of the March 15, 2019, shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Whereas, on March 15, 2019, a White supremacist armed with military-style semiautomatic weapons stormed the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Center indiscrimi- nately shooting and murdering 51 children, women, and men and injuring 40 others during Jumu’ah prayer in Christchurch, New Zealand; Whereas the entire attack seemed to be orchestrated for so- cial media as the gunman livestreamed parts of the ter- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR250.IH HR250 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 250 IH rorist attack on social media for 17 minutes using a head-mounted camera; Whereas upon his arrest, the gunman admitted to police that his plan was to target worshippers in a third mosque then burn down the mosques after his attack, and that he wished he had done so; Whereas the terrorist attack targeted individuals solely on the basis of their religion and ethnicity and carried out in a place of worship; Whereas these attacks were motivated by an extremist ide- ology of White supremacy carried out by an individual who espoused racist and Islamophobic views; Whereas Islamophobia has been a growing threat to commu- nities around the world; Whereas increased instances of Islamophobia and hate crimes committed against Muslims, or those thought to be Mus- lim, are partly a result of the response to the September 11, 2001, attacks, and the rise of hate speech and false coverage in the media and online chatrooms that continue to fuel the ignorance that drive certain individuals toward acts of hatred and violence; Whereas Islamophobia is an integral component of the White supremacist ‘‘great replacement’’ conspiracy theory, which the shooter embraced; Whereas the ‘‘great replacement’’ is an Islamophobic, antisemitic, racist, xenophobic, and misogynist conspiracy theory suggesting that White people are being inten- tionally ‘‘replaced’’ by ‘‘invaders’’; Whereas the ‘‘great replacement’’ conspiracy theory and rhet- oric depicting immigrants and non-Whites as an ‘‘inva- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR250.IH HR250 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 250 IH sion’’ has been promoted by Members of Congress and other national leaders; Whereas subsequent mass shootings, including at a syna- gogue in Poway, California, a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas, and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, were in part inspired by the Christchurch shootings and the White supremacist ‘‘great replacement’’ conspiracy theory and ‘‘invasion’’ rhetoric he espoused; Whereas such heinous acts of violence are an assault on the values of tolerance, diversity, and inclusivity that are the foundation of a free and democratic society; Whereas the United States has experienced hundreds of pub- lic mass shootings in churches, schools, concerts, and movie theaters; Whereas in an average year, at least 10,300 hate crimes in- volve a firearm; Whereas communities of color are disproportionately im- pacted by gun violence; Whereas hate crimes harm not only the victim or victims, but also traumatize entire communities and damage public confidence in their safety; Whereas the Government of New Zealand responded to the attacks by banning semiautomatic weapons and imple- menting a buyback program for gun owners; Whereas we must stand in solidarity with the Muslim com- munity in New Zealand and around the world, and reaf- firm our commitment to promoting understanding and respect for all people, regardless of their background or beliefs; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR250.IH HR250 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 250 IH Whereas Congress must do everything in its power to con- demn and eradicate the ideologies that fuel hate crimes: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) mourns the loss of the worshipers killed at 2 the mosques in Christchurch; 3 (2) recognizes and condemns the transnational 4 threat of White supremacist ideology, conspiracy 5 theories, and violence; 6 (3) deplores attacks on people of all faiths in 7 their places of worship; 8 (4) affirms the rights of religious minorities in 9 the United States and around the world to practice 10 their religions in peace; and 11 (5) commits to ending gun violence. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR250.IH HR250 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB