Honor Chemical Warfare Victims

April 29, 2019, as a Day of Remembrance in the State of New York for all victims of Chemical Warfare WHEREAS, A Day of Remembrance has been set aside for the people of the State of New York to remember the victims of chemical warfare as well as to reflect on the need for respect of all people; and WHEREAS, This Day of Remembrance comes after more than one hundred years since chemical weapons were first used on a large scale during World War I in Iper, Belgium; and WHEREAS, Chemical weapons have cast a dark shadow over the 20th Century, claiming countless victims, both civilians and soldiers across the globe; each year we gather to honor the memory of all of those victims; and WHEREAS, This Act of Remembrance re-commits us to never allow any person to fall victim, to never hear that lives have been blighted, to never see the fear on the victims faces that has been affected by the use of chemical weapons; and WHEREAS, Since the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993, it has quickly encompassed 190 States, eliminating 87% of the world's declared stockpiles of chemical weapons; and WHEREAS, On this Remembrance Day, we renew our resolve to achieve a world truly free of chemical weapons by rededicating ourselves to the mission, with the will that fueled the creation of the global ban against these weapons; and WHEREAS, This Legislative Body should always remember the terrible events of the fateful day in April of 1915, where the birth of chemical warfare occurred, and remain vigilant against such destructive weapons; and WHEREAS, In addition, all New Yorkers should actively rededicate ourselves to the principles of a civil and just society, to secure a future that will never again experience these weapons by protecting, strengthening and extending the norm enshrined by the Chemical Weapons Convention; and WHEREAS, This Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare, will be a reminder to all citizens of the destruction chemical weapons has left on our society, State, Nation, and world; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 29, 2019, as a Day of Remembrance in the State of New York, in honor of the victims of chemical warfare, and to resolve to diligently work to prevent the use of chemical weapons from every happening again; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.