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EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0751*
HOUSE BILL 751
P1 6lr2354
HB 668/25 – HGO
By: Delegates M. Morgan, Arikan, Chisholm, Fisher, Grammer, Nawrocki, and
Szeliga
Introduced and read first time: February 4, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Victims of Communism Memorial Day 2
FOR the purpose of requiring the Governor annually to proclaim a certain day as Victims 3
of Communism Memorial Day; directing the Department of Legislative Services to 4
send a copy of this Act to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation; and 5
generally relating to Victims of Communism Memorial Day. 6
BY renumbering 7
Article – General Provisions 8
Section 7–421 9
to be Section 7–422 10
Annotated Code of Maryland 11
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 12
BY adding to 13
Article – General Provisions 14
Section 7–421 15
Annotated Code of Maryland 16
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 17
Preamble 18
WHEREAS, The ye ar 2017 marked 100 years since the Bolshevik Revolution in 19
Russia, which resulted in the world’s first communist regime under Vladimir Lenin and led 20
to decades of oppression and violence under communist regimes throughout the world; and 21
WHEREAS, Based on the philosophy of Karl Marx, communism has proven 22
incompatible with the ideals of liberty, prosperity, and dignity of human life and has given 23
rise to such infamous totalitarian dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, 24
Pol Pot, Nicolae Ceausescu, the Castro brothers, and the Kim dynasty; and 25
2 HOUSE BILL 751
WHEREAS, President Trump declared November 7, 2017, a National Day for the 1
Victims of Communism, condemning communism as a political philosophy “incompatible 2
with liberty, prosperity, and the dignity of human life”; and 3
WHEREAS, The bipartisan U.S. Congressional Caucus for the Victims of 4
Communism stated publicly in 2018 that “Marx’s defenders often say he cannot be held 5
accountable for what communist regimes did long after his life and death; but Marxis t 6
dictators who massacred their own people were applying communist ideology to political 7
practice”; and 8
WHEREAS, Communist regimes worldwide have killed more than 100 million 9
people and subjected countless others to the worst and widest–spread human rights abuses 10
known to history, with victims representing many different human ethnicities, creeds, and 11
backgrounds; and 12
WHEREAS, Through false promises of equality and liberation, communist regimes 13
have as a matter of government policy robbed their own citizens of the rights of freedom of 14
religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of association through coercion, brutality, and fear; 15
and 16
WHEREAS, Many victims of communism were persecuted as political prisoners for 17
speaking out against these regimes, and others were killed in genocidal, state –sponsored 18
purges; and 19
WHEREAS, In addition to violating basic human rights, communist regimes have 20
suppressed freedom of conscience, cultural life, and self–determination movements in more 21
than 40 nations; and 22
WHEREAS, The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C., 23
is a nonprofit organization, authorized by unanimous Act of the U.S. Congress, that 24
educates people about the ideology, history, and legacy of communism and honors the 25
people who have suffered and died under communist regimes; now, therefore, 26
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND , 27
That Section(s) 7–421 of Article – General Provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland 28
be renumbered to be Section(s) 7–422. 29
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED , That the Laws of Maryland read 30
as follows: 31
Article – General Provisions 32
7–421. 33
THE GOVERNOR ANNUALLY SHA LL PROCLAIM NOVEMBER 7 AS VICTIMS OF 34
COMMUNISM MEMORIAL DAY. 35
HOUSE BILL 751 3
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Department of Legislative 1
Services is directed to send a copy of this Act to the Victims of Communism Memorial 2
Foundation, 900 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005. 3
SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 4
October 1, 2026. 5