EYE ON CONGRESS ALERT-- JUNE 2:
At our June1 teleconference the Disarmament Committee decided to follow the example of our Code Pink sisters and act locally.
The mayors of the U.S. will be meeting on June 20. Now is the time to get
your City Council to pass a Resolution against the U.S. using force against
Iran.
Here is a sample letter from Code Pink:
Dear Elected Officials,
With the war in Iraq raging-consuming so many of our young people's lives
and our communities' financial resources, we see how difficult it is to get
out of a war once it has started. This is why we are determined to stop the
next war before it starts.
In the case of Iran, some national leaders have been using unsubstantiated
and/or exaggerated claims about Iran's interference in Iraq and its nuclear
program to advocate a military attack against Iran. Such an attack would be
disastrous for the people of Iran, our soldiers in Iraq and the Middle East
as a whole. It could also cause a devastating disruption of oil supplies and
rob our community of precious resources needed to address local needs.
For this reason, we urge you to pass a resolution calling for diplomacy, not
war, with Iran. Such resolutions are now being passed all over the country
to show our leaders in Washington DC that the people of this nation are
determined to begin resolving our conflicts with other nations through
negotiations and diplomacy, not war.
We will follow up with you to see about your willingness to introduce a
resolution similar to the one attached. We thank you in advance for your
support. You can contact us at the following email or phone: xx.
Sincerely,
Find a Sponsor Among Your Elected Officials
Check to see if your city has already passed a similar resolution, such as a
resolution against the war in Iraq (see www.citiesforprogress.org). If so,
check who introduced and supported that resolution and if they are still in
office, go back to those same people to see if they will sponsor this
resolution.
If you don't have an obvious sponsor, ask around to see who is the most
progressive, global-minded, peace-loving person in your city government and
approach that person. It could be a city council member, your mayor or
perhaps a staffperson who could help you find the right sponsor.
It's important to try to find a sponsor who is really cares about peace in
the Middle East and won't just drop the ball. It's also important to have a
strategy session with that person (or their aide) to ask advice on what you
can do to help ensure passage of the resolution.
A word of advice: City officials often use the excuse that this is an
international matter and they only deal with local issues. You can counter
with arguments such as:
* War, as we see in the case of Iraq, has a direct and negative impact on
your city through the soldiers who are asked to fight to the taxdollars
drained from government coffers.
* The state's National Guard is now involved in the fighting in the Middle
East, making your community more vulnerable in case of a local emergency.
* Other cities all over the country regularly weigh in on international
issues. It should be easy for you, as a public official, to advocate
diplomacy over war.
Madeline DUckles of Berkeley Branch reports Oakland, CA recently passed a resolution against the US using force against Iran! Let's join the movement!
Go to Code Pink Web Site to:
Read the article by the Oakland Tribune
Read the resolution text from Oakland + other successful sample City Council
peace resolutions
