BILL NUMBER: SR 18	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senators Leno, Corbett, Correa, De León, Galgiani,
Hancock, Hill, Jackson, Lara, Lieu, Liu, Roth, Steinberg, and Wolk

                        AUGUST 12, 2013

   Relative to the government of Russia.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, The government of Russia has recently undertaken an
aggressive course of action on both the local and national level to
pass laws targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) community; and
   WHEREAS, The government of Russia has enacted a law banning the
adoption of Russian-born children by LGBT couples and also by any
couple or single parent living in a country where marriage equality
exists in any form; and
   WHEREAS, The government of Russia has enacted a law banning
"propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" that penalizes
LGBT-affirming and positive messages or actions, including, but not
limited to, messages on the Internet, and violates the fundamental
human rights of freedom of speech, assembly, expression, and
equality, all under the guise of protecting children; and
   WHEREAS, The Russian Federation is the host of the XXII Olympic
Winter Games; and
   WHEREAS, The government of Russia has enacted a vaguely worded law
allowing police officers to arrest tourists and foreign nationals
who violate the new "gay propaganda" law and detain them for up to 15
days and expel them from Russia; and
   WHEREAS, Representatives of the Russian government have indicated
they intend to enforce the new law against visitors and athletes
during the XXII Olympic Winter Games; and
   WHEREAS, These laws have already resulted in a significant
increase in homophobia and targeted violence against LGBT people and
caused millions of Russians to live in fear that their government
will target them or remove their children from their homes simply
because of who they are; and
   WHEREAS, History repeatedly instructs us that despotic rulers who
scapegoat classes of their own citizens and then legislate their
status as outlaws often move on to initiate genocide against those
same people, especially if the rest of the world remains silent; and
   WHEREAS, Hillary Clinton, as the 67th United States Secretary of
State, stated in a December 2011 Human Rights Day address to the
United Nations, "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are
gay rights"; and
   WHEREAS, Equity shareholders in publicly traded companies can be
instrumental in encouraging responsible corporate citizenship, and
the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California
State Teachers' Retirement System have joined 1,200 other
institutional investors from 50 countries who manage more than $34
trillion in assets to develop and become a signatory to the
Principles for Responsible Investment; and
   WHEREAS, Californians expect companies with equity securities held
in a public employee retirement fund's portfolio to be conducted
with integrity and a view toward supporting and protecting
internationally proclaimed human rights; and
   WHEREAS, California's history of leadership in socially
responsible public investing serves as a model followed by other
governments and includes divesting in shares of tobacco and gun
companies and banning investments in countries that violate ethical,
labor, and human rights standards, such as South Africa, Iran, and
Sudan; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
condemns the Russian government's attacks on the LGBT community and
laws targeting LGBT people and their supporters, including tourists,
athletes, and other participants in the XXII Olympic Winter Games;
and be it further
   Resolved, That the Senate deplores and condemns all laws and acts
of violence, in both word and in action, that use the government as
an instrument of discrimination, persecution, and legislation against
the LGBT community and its supporters; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Senate calls upon the President, the United
States Congress, and the United States Department of State to
increase efforts to encourage the decriminalization of homosexuality
in every country and to use all means possible to increase the number
of countries supporting decriminalization, including, but not
limited to, the United Nations, trade and diplomatic relationships,
and the implementation of international treaties and declarations on
human rights; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Senate urges the International Olympic
Committee to seek written agreement from the Russian government that
the new "gay propaganda" law will not affect those attending,
participating, or competing in the XXII Olympic Winter Games; and be
it further
   Resolved, That the Senate urges NBCUniversal, as broadcaster of
the XXII Olympic Winter Games in the United States, to increase
awareness of Russia's homophobic laws and the threat they pose to
participating athletes and visitors by discussing them on air at
every opportunity, including during the opening and closing
ceremonies when millions of Americans will be watching; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Senate strongly encourages the California
Public Employees' Retirement System and the California State Teachers'
Retirement System, whenever feasible and consistent with their
fiduciary responsibilities, to cease making direct investments in
Russia and to encourage companies in which employee retirement funds
are invested and that are doing business in Russia not to take
actions that promote or otherwise enable human rights violations in
Russia; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.