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2015 SESSION

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 634 Commemorating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 23, 2015 Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 2015

 

WHEREAS, on June 15, 1215, King John of England and his feudal barons met on the field of Runnymede, a meadow on the banks of the Thames River near Windsor, England, and affixed their seals to the document known as the Magna Carta; and

WHEREAS, the events of that day elevated the ideas of freedom and the rule of law and demonstrated that not even the king was above the common law of the land; and

WHEREAS, on July 30, 1619, the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America met at Jamestown, Virginia, building upon principles and rights guaranteed by the Magna Carta; and

WHEREAS, the American Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, was an indictment of King George of England’s breaches of English common law as upheld by the Magna Carta; and

WHEREAS, in 1948, the newly formed United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, based on principles of the Magna Carta such as upholding freedom, democracy, and the rule of law; and

WHEREAS, the Magna Carta represents an idea that can never be uninvented or unimagined; and

WHEREAS, the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta is an occasion for Virginians to deepen their understanding of the crucial role it has played in the development of human rights, democracy, and liberty; a time to celebrate the individual rights we enjoy today; and an opportunity to strengthen human rights around the world; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta on June 15, 2015; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Sir Robert Worcester, chair of the Magna Carta 800th Committee, or his designated representative as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for the significance of this historic document.