Virginia enacts law to ban Nazi symbols, protects sacred Swastika
Unlike the Hakenkreuz, which is a symbol of hatred and violence used by the Nazis, the Swastika is an ancient symbol of peace, prosperity, and divinity revered in Dharmic and Indigenous traditions.Earlier drafts of HB2783 dangerously blurred this distinction, referring to the Nazi emblem as 'commonly known as the Swastika.' This language, though unintentional, risked harming religious communities by reinforcing decades of misrepresentation.COMMUNITY ADVOCACY SPURS MAJOR CHANGEOver a single weekend, more than 1,000 concerned citizens contacted lawmakers. Community leaders, legal experts, and interfaith allies united to urge changes in how the bill described Nazi symbolism.advertisementTheir advocacy worked. Governor Glenn Youngkin even sent the bill back for revision, asking that lawmakers adopt the critical updates requested by the community. As a result, the new law now prioritizes the historically correct term 'Hakenkreuz'.- Avoids implying there is a 'good' vs. 'bad' Swastika.- Clarifies that the 'Nazi Swastika' is not the sacred Swastika used in religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, or Native American traditions.- Replaces 'commonly known as' with the more accurate 'sometimes referred to as'.This Virginia legislation follows similar progress in California and even in Canada, where the Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith has adopted the term Hakenkreuz and acknowledged the sacred role of the Swastika in Dharmic traditions. Influential figures like design historian Steven Heller have also publicly corrected their language on this issue in recent years.- EndsMust Watch
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Time of India
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US rapper Kanye West's WW3 album crosses line? 'Hitler' track title sends global shockwaves
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