SECOND REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 26
96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES OXFORD (Sponsor), MORGAN, PACE, DIEHL, McMANUS, RIZZO, SHUMAKE, JONES (63), BROWN (50), McDONALD, PIERSON, MAY, McGEOGHEGAN, SWEARINGEN, ELLINGER, CARLSON, HUGHES, TALBOY, COLONA, FALLERT AND McCANN BEATTY (Co-sponsors).
WHEREAS, the current government of Vietnam is a nondemocratic, one-party system of government without rule of law that arbitrarily infringes upon the basic human and civil liberties of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, Vietnamese-Americans were forced to flee Vietnam in fear of the government of Vietnam's campaign of retribution and persecution after the fall of Saigon in 1975; and
WHEREAS, the State of Missouri is home to 20,000 Vietnamese-Americans and residents of Vietnamese descent who have made substantial contributions to the cultural, religious, business, and commerce of the State of Missouri; and
WHEREAS, the vast majority of Vietnamese-Americans embrace the yellow with three red stripes heritage and freedom flag as the official symbol of the Vietnamese-American community; and
WHEREAS, dating back to 1948, the yellow flag with three red stripes has a long history in Vietnam and is a broader symbol of resilience, freedom, and democracy of and for Vietnamese-Americans and free Vietnamese around the world; and
WHEREAS, Vietnamese-Americans have shown their desire that the yellow flag with three red stripes be recognized as the official flag of the Vietnamese-American community:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-sixth General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the State of Missouri to formally recognize the yellow with three red stripes heritage and freedom flag as the official flag of the Vietnamese-American community in this state, and permit this flag to be displayed on any state-owned property, at any state-controlled or sponsored Vietnamese-American event, or at any public function organized by the Vietnamese-American community, subject to the permit requirements of the event's locality; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Missouri General Assembly encourages county officials and city legislators in the State of Missouri to pass resolutions recognizing the yellow with three red stripes heritage and freedom flag as the official flag of the Vietnamese-American community.
•