Read WILPF's international statement condemning the North Korean nuclear weapon test -- but the DPRK is not the only nation testing nuclear weapons. Join the U.S. WILPF protest against the June 29 launch of a Minuteman III nuclear missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
In this issue:
- Make August 6 Nuclear Weapons Abolition Day
- Invite the Proposition One Road Show to your community
- UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the WILPF Nuclear Free Future Campaign
NOW IS THE TIME TO PLAN FOR HIROSHIMA DAY
DECLARE AUGUST 6 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT DAY AND ASK CONGRESS TO DO THE SAME!
Burlington Vermont WILPF Branch originated this campaign in 2008. Read the 2008 description here. Eleven WILPF Branches joined Burlington in petitioning Congress last year. Most started signature gathering in June and July, and then made it a centerpiece of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Day memorials. Branches or members in Ashland and Portland (Oregon), Vancouver (Washington), San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles/Whittier(California). Tucson (Arizona), Boston (Massachusetts), Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) collected hundreds of signatures. Petitions were delivered in person to House and Senate offices in Washington D.C. Download the petition here.
The Mayor of Burlington was the first to proclaim Nuclear Disarmament Day. Ask your Mayor – especially if he is a Mayor for Peace – to make a similar proclamation this year.
Now the Vermont legislature has done the same and declared August 6 Nuclear Disarmament Day! This is thanks to the work of the Burlington Branch and their active coalition building. Read the Branch press release here. So we can all contact our Mayors, move on to the Legislators and continue our petitioning of the U.S. Congress!
But let's begin with the petition. Collect signatures and hand deliver the petitions to local (or national!) Congressional offices. Ask for a personal meeting with Representatives and Senators. Don't despair if you are first directed to staff -- those relationships are also important. They can also lead to a later meeting with the Senator or Representative. Refer to Eight Tips for a Successful Lobby Visit. This was originated by WAND and is now used by FCNL, WILPF and many of our partner organizations.
Contact Margaret Harrington , DISARM! committee co-chair, for more information. Let her know if you are participating in the petition campaign.She is coordinating this campaign for WILPF and DISARM!.
Glean other ideas and inspiration from reports of 2008 WILPF Hiroshima-Nagasaki events. But remember, this year, 2009, is very special. President Obama has promised to work for abolition of nuclear weapons. We must build the powerful civil society support that will allow that promise to be kept. Hiroshima and Nagasaki memorials are wonderful opportunities to build that support and inspire significant action.
INVITE THE 2010 PROPOSITION ONE ROAD SHOW TO YOUR COMMUNITY!
The 2010 Proposition One Road Show is supported by both WILPF DISARM! Dismantle the War EconomyCommittee and Washington D.C. WILPF Branch. DISARM! co-chair Ellen Thomas and WILPF member and former Washington D.C. Peace Center Director Jay Marx are now touring the country with the Road Show. They are promoting abolition of nuclear weapons and the conversion of nuclear and other arms industries to provide for human and environmental needs.
Explore the Proposition One Blog, launched May 22, for details on the campaign and the long history of activism from which it grows. It developed out of a 24 hour vigil in front of the White House which Ellen Thomas joined in 1984. It still continues and is in its 28th year. In addition to maintaining the vigil Ellen and her husband organized a voter initiative which passed in 1993 as Washington D.C. Voter Initiative. 37, now the basis for Proposition One.
In 1993 Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s non-voting Representative, introduced the D.C. initiative in Congress as The Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act, H.R. 1653. This year she has reintroduced it for the tenth time. Through the years its co-sponsors have included Representative Woolsey (California), John Lewis and Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas, Fortney Pete Stark (California), David Minge and James Oberstar (Minnesota), Charles Rangel (New York), Al Wynn (Maryland), and Earl Hilliard (Alabama). This year (2009) Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) and John Lewis have agreed verbally to co-sponsor.
Ellen and Jay have now begun their long journey in North Carolina, and will travel on to other states which allow voter initiatives: Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
You can reach Jay Marx, Campaign Coordinator at jaymarx@prop1.org and Ellen Thomas, Executive Director at et@prop1.org. They can also be reached cell at 202-210-3886.From them you can also learn more about other WILPF initiatives as we focus on creating a Nuclear Free Future for ourselves and generations to come.
(If you take time to explore the blog and Proposition One more thoroughly, you will discover much more including a series of short videos on Proposition One and glimpses of the colorful history of the White House vigil. Serious abolitionists can also sign up for Ellen's daily Nuclear News with links to dozens of top nuclear stories for the day.)
UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI MOON
AND THE WILPF NUCLEAR FREE FUTURE CAMPAIGN
Ban Ki Moon is now urging all nations in the UN to move quickly for nuclear disarmament as a first step toward general and complete disarmament. The DISARM! team prepared a resource and action page based on his October speech the East West Institute. It includes multiple web links for information, action tools, and access to our partner organiztions.
