Title
Supporting nuclear war prevention.
Body
WHEREAS, nine nations collectively have approximately 13,100 nuclear weapons in their arsenals, most of which are far more destructive than those that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945; and
WHEREAS, the detonation of even a small number of these weapons could have catastrophic human and environmental consequences that could affect everyone on the planet; and
WHEREAS, the United States maintains several hundred nuclear missiles in underground silos on hair-trigger alert, capable of being launched within minutes after a presidential order, which greatly increases the risk of an accidental, mistaken or unauthorized launch; and
WHEREAS, the United States continues to reserve the right to use nuclear weapons first, which reduces the threshold for nuclear use and makes a nuclear war more likely; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. president has the sole and unchecked authority to order the use of nuclear weapons; and
WHEREAS, the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent racial justice uprisings have highlighted the need for greater investment in our healthcare system and our communities; and
WHEREAS, over the next 30 years, the United States plans to spend an estimated $1.7 trillion to replace its entire nuclear arsenal and the bombers, missiles and submarines that deliver them with more capable, more usable versions; and
WHEREAS, taxpayers spend over $2 million every hour of every day to maintain the U.S. nuclear arsenal; and
WHEREAS, Residents of Saint Paul pay an estimated $65,994,272.19 each year to pay for our nuclear arsenal, and if this funding was instead added to the city budget could be used to support the building of approximately to 660 desperately needed new affordable housing units; and
WHEREAS, a grassroots movement called “Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons” has been endorsed by over 400 health, envir...
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