Title: Victims of Communism Day

Summary: Requires Governor to proclaim November 7 of each year as "Victims of Communism Day"; requires day to be observed in public schools; requires certain high school students to receive specified instruction.

Full Text:
WHEREAS, over years have passed since the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and the formation of the first communist government under Vladimir Lenin, leading to decades of oppression and violence under communist regimes throughout the world, and WHEREAS, based on the economic philosophies of Karl Marx, communism has proven incompati ble with the ideals of liberty, prosperity, and dignity of human life and has given rise to such infamous totalitarian dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, H  Chi  Minh, and Pol Pot, and WHEREAS, communist regimes worldwide have killed more than million people and subjected countless others to exploitation and unspeakable atrocities, with victims representing many different ethnicities, creeds, and backgrounds, and WHEREAS, through false promises of equality and liberation, WHEREAS, many victims of communism were persecuted as political prisoners for speaking ou tagainst these regimes, and others were killed in genocidal state-sponsored purges of undesirable groups, and WHEREAS, in addition to violating basic human rights, communist regimes have suppressed intellectual freedom, cultural life, and self-determinat ion movements in more than nations, NOW, THEREFORE, Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 683.334, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 683.334 Victims of Communism Day.-(1) The Governor shall proclai mNovember of each year as "Victims of Communism Day," which shall be suitably observed in the public schools of the state as a day honoring the 46 million people who have fallen victim to communist regimes across the world and which shall be suitably observed by such public exercise in the state capital and elsewhere as the Governor may designate. CS/HB 1553 2021 (2) If November falls on a day that is not a school day, "Victims of Communism Day" shall be observed in the public schools in the state on the preceding school day or on such school day as may be designated by local school authorities. (3) Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, high school students enrolled in the United States Government class required by s. 1003.4282 must receive at least minutes of instruction on "Victims of Communism Day" on topics such as Mao Zedong in China, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, H  Chi  Minh in Vietnam, and Nicol s Maduro in Venezue la, and how the victims suffered under these regimes through suppression of speech, poverty, starvation, migration, and systemic lethal violence against civilians. Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.