Co-sponsored by In Defense of Christians and the Knights of Columbus, the petition is being promoted by a new nationwide TV ad.
 
The ad includes quotes by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio endorsing a genocide declaration for Christians in the Middle East. That position is supported by 55 percent of Americans, according to a 2015 K of C-Marist poll.
 
Signers of the petition "implore" Secretary Kerry "to speak up on behalf of these brutalized minority populations."
 
They conclude by urging him "to declare that Christians, along with Yazidis and other vulnerable minorities, are targets of ongoing genocide."
 
They argue that such a declaration meets the criteria established by the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
 
Watch religious freedom advocate and former Congressman Frank Wolf explain how declaring what's happening to religious minorities in the Middle East genocide will force the world to take action to help them.
 
Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson testified before a congressional subcommittee in December.
 
"Christians in Iraq and Syria have suffered injustice after injustice by being kidnapped, killed, having their homes and churches confiscated or destroyed, and being forced to flee for their lives," he told the subcommittee.
 
"Because of hit squads, they fear to enter U.N. refugee camps and, as a result, are then often excluded from immigration to the West."
 
"These people deserve to have the U.S. State Department call what has happened to them by its rightful name: genocide—just as the European Parliament, Pope Francis, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and so many other prominent individuals and institutions have already done," he said.
 
The State Department is required by law to make a designation one way or the other on the matter by mid-March.
 
The petition can be signed at StopTheChristianGenocide.org.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Good News: TPUSA High School Clubs More Than Double, Hit 2,700 Nationwide

Atheist Bill Maher Condemns Media Silence on Christian Genocide in Nigeria: 'Systematic Killing'

'We Found Him': The Alleged Smoke Bomber Who Disrupted a Sean Feucht Worship Event; His Shocking Links to Antifa Inside Canada's Military

As Deadly Violence against Houses of Worship Rises, So Do Law Enforcement, Security Measures

Portland Police Arrest Conservative Journalist Nick Sortor Outside ICE Facility, 'But None of the Domestic Terrorists'

Apple Takes Down ICE Tracking Apps After Pressure from Bondi DOJ

Kash Patel's FBI Cuts All Ties to Southern Poverty Law Center

The President Is Already Using the Shutdown to Slash Federal Spending, Plans to Make Job Cuts

Israeli Leaders React to Terror Attack on UK Synagogue as Navy Intercepts Pro-Hamas Flotilla

President Trump Sets Sunday Deadline for Hamas to Accept Deal or Face 'ALL HELL'

'Blown Away': Hundreds Saved and Baptized as 8,000 Students Seek Jesus at University of Tennessee

Concerned Citizens Checked Their 'Conservative' Town High School Library for These Obscene Books Available to Students; Here's What Happened

DOJ Investigates Major School District Over DEI Programs

RFK Jr. Directs FDA to Study the Safety of Abortion Pills

Planned Parenthood Closes Houston Abortion Facility That Was Biggest in America

Democrat Prosecutor Sued after Dropping Charges against Woman Who Violently Assaulted Pro-Lifer

Kilmar Abrego Garcia's Final Order of Removal Stands as Judge Denies Motion to Reopen His Case

Gov't Shutdown Continues: White House Releases New Memo Exposing Dems' Demand for Nearly $200 B in Taxpayer-Funded Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants

Watch: Faith Revival Follows Charlie Kirk's Death As More People Attend Church and Read the Bible; 'This Is Bigger Than Charlie Kirk'

Israel's PM Just Blew Up All Those Conspiracy Theories About Charlie Kirk Being Anti-Semitic