State’s first official Victims of Communism Day coincides with Election Day this year

 The first official “Victims of Communism Day,” is today — and all Nov. 7’s onward — even if the effect of the law won’t kick in until next year.

There’s no day off for this official observance, but state officials reminded Floridians Sunday why this piece of Russian history was written into Florida statute.

“Those from Cuba, South America, or Eastern Europe have plenty of criticisms to offer on communism — and since November 7th is now ‘Victims of Communism Day’ in Florida, the willfully ignorant will have a harder time keeping up this ruse,” Bryan Griffin, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary tweeted Sunday.

Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. highlighted how Florida just joined a growing list of states who take note of Nov. 7, tweeting a link to the Victims of Communism Memorial Day. Memorializing the day started with Virginia, which recognized it in 2018 legislation. Now Florida is the latest on a list that includes Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

Nov. 7 is the anniversary of the day in 1917 when Vladimir Lenin stormed the Russian capital to overthrow the government. It ignited a worldwide movement.

The law calls for honoring the 100 million victims of communist regimes around the world. It means students will get at least 45 minutes of instruction about the evils that Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Russia’s Lenin and Joseph Stalin, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Cambodia’s Pol Pot and China’s Mao Zedong unleashed on the world, forcing victims to suffer suppression of speech, poverty, starvation, migration and systemic lethal violence.

The legislation (HB 395) enjoyed unanimous approval in both the House and the Senate.

Miami-area Republican Reps. David Borrero and Alex Rizo sponsored the legislation in the House and Then-Republican Diaz introduced it in the Senate. The Senate adopted it, also.

That it falls just around the biennial ritual of going to the polls also seems like an opportune time to remind the descendants of these victims which party is more like those who would send its citizens to the gulag or internment camps.

For Misha Fitton, who says he’s a DeSantis organizer, which political party to support to keep communism from resurging is obvious.

“Florida is the tip of the spear against the evils of communism,” he wrote on Twitter Sunday. “Do you stand with the communists or Governor DeSantis?”

The New York Times published an article Saturday noting DeSantis’ signature on the legislation, along with turning Miami-Dade County from a Democratic stronghold to one that is expected to swing Republican. Unofficial voter totals show more than 6,000 more Miami-Dade County Republicans have voted than Democrats.

The new law requires high school students enrolled in the U.S. Government course, to receive at least 45 minutes of instruction on the evils of communism.