John,

Over the course of eight years, 1.5 million Armenians were lost to a systematic genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks. 109 years later, we must remember the lives lost, the hopes and dreams destroyed forever.

Today, even as the Armenian people thrive here in California, Armenians and Armenia continue to face ongoing threats and violence from Azerbaijan and Turkey. The world cannot be silent.

Armenians deserve to live in peace in Armenia and in their ancestral homeland of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh.

It was my honor to present and author HR 82, a resolution commemorating this dark and tragic chapter in history. And I commend the Armenian people for their unwavering resilience. Though your homeland is far, it is near in all of our hearts.

May the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and all genocides that have come to follow it, rest in eternal peace.

Sincerely,

Laura