Mission

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The West Virginia Commission on Holocaust Education strenuously opposes House Joint Resolution 31.  Specifically, HJR 31 introduces an amendment to the West Virginia Constitution that seeks to establish the Christian Bible as the official “divinely inspired, inerrant foundational document for our society and government,” an “accurate historical record of human and natural history,” and “the utmost authority for human moral behavior.” 

The Commission, founded in 1998, includes as one of its core legislative mandates, the recognition that: 

“…education can ensure that citizens are knowledgeable about the events leading up to the Holocaust and about the organizations and facilities that were created and used purposefully for the systematic destruction of human beings and that the lessons of holistic trust and respect for peoples of various cultures are important for the citizens of West Virginia as they enter the global marketplace and economy…” (WV Code 5-28-1) HJR 31 represents precisely the kind of theocratic “organizations and facilities” that serve only to marginalize and segregate a segment of the population.  

To be sure, this legislation is more than symbolic – it threatens the intrusion of government into religion. This directly  undermines Sec. 15 of the WV Bill of Rights, titled "Religious Freedom Guaranteed," in which a defense of religious freedom was carefully crafted to protect the freedoms of all West Virginians. History is resplendent with examples of the abuses and horrors that result when such theocratic measures are imposed.

Therefore we, the West Virginia Commission on Holocaust Education, strongly urge the sponsoring delegates (Dillon, Coop-Gonzalez, White, Anders, Butler, Mazzochi, Howell, Clark, and Moore) to withdraw HJR 31 immediately.