Bill Text: CA AJR54 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 23-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-08-14 - From printer. [AJR54 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AJR54-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AJR 54 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Melendez
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Donnelly,
Beth Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Jones, Logue, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, and Wilk)
(Coauthors: Senators Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Gaines, Huff,
Nielsen, and Walters)
AUGUST 13, 2014
Relative to Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 54, as introduced, Melendez. Marine Sergeant Andrew
Tahmooressi.
This measure urges the President of the United States of America
to use his executive powers to call for the release of Marine
Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi from prison in Mexico.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Andrew Paul Tahmooressi is a twenty five year old combat
veteran, a decorated United States Marine who has served three tours
with a quick reaction force, or QRF, in Afghanistan with the 2nd
Battalion, 6th Marines out of Camp LeJeune; and
WHEREAS, He received a combat field promotion to the rank of
Sergeant, as well as a number of commendations and decorations,
including the Meritorious Combat Service Award; and
WHEREAS, He was responsible for saving the lives of a group of
Marines by providing cover fire while they escaped to safety; and
WHEREAS, He survived an improvised explosive device, an IED, blast
that struck his vehicle; and
WHEREAS, He was honorably discharged from the United States Marine
Corps with a perfect ER-1A rating; and
WHEREAS, He is currently under contract with the Individual Ready
Reserve as an Inactive Reservist until August 2016; and
WHEREAS, He enrolled in Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in
Florida in 2013 in pursuit of a Bachelor's Degree in Professional
Aviation, but moved to California to seek treatment for
post-traumatic stress at the San Diego Veterans Administration
Hospital on March 12, 2014, as symptoms challenged his academic
studies; and
WHEREAS, His unfamiliarity with the San Diego region lead to
Sergeant Tahmooressi exiting to the El Chaparral inspection area at
the Mexican border with all of his possessions in his vehicle, which
included three legally acquired firearms; and
WHEREAS, After realizing his error, Sergeant Tahmooressi advised
Mexican customs officials that he had mistakenly entered the
inspection area; and
WHEREAS, He was then taken into custody, charged with "weapons
trafficking" by the Mexican federal prosecutor; and
WHEREAS, He is currently incarcerated in El Hongo Mexican prison;
and
WHEREAS, He is an American citizen who has bravely served three
tours of duty in Afghanistan and maintains the full support of the
United States Marine Corps; and
WHEREAS, Pursuant to Section 1732 of Title 22 of the United States
Code, whenever it is made known to the President that any citizen of
the United States of America has been unjustly deprived of his or
her liberty under the authority of a foreign government, it is the
duty of the President to demand the reasons for the imprisonment; and
WHEREAS, If the imprisonment appears to be in violation of an
American citizen's rights, Section 1732 of Title 22 of the United
States Code requires the President to demand that citizen's release;
now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Assembly and the Senate urge the
President of the United States to apply all diplomatic and legal
pressure at his disposal to ensure that Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi
is released without further delay; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President of the United States, to the
Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate
distribution.
