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, environmental, academic, peace, faith, and justice organizations and has resulted in resolutions approved by over 50 municipalities, including the cities of Los Angeles, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Washington DC, as well as the states of California and Oregon; and
WHEREAS, the United States, as well as Britain, China, France and Russia, are obligated under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to take concrete steps toward eliminating their nuclear arsenals; and
WHEREAS, in July 2017, 122 nations approved the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on January 22, 2021 making it illegal under international law to develop, test, produce, manufacture, or otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and
WHEREAS, on September 25, 2022, the Golden Rule ship was scheduled to visit St Paul as part of their Great Loop Voyage through efforts by the group Veterans For Peace; and
WHEREAS, Veterans For Peace aims to advance opposition to nuclear weapons and war by their efforts which include the recovery and restoration of the original peace ship, the Golden Rule, that set sail in 1958 to stop nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands, and which inspired the many peace makers and peace ships that followed; and
WHEREAS, the reborn Golden Rule is sailing once more, to show that nuclear abolition is possible, and that bravery and tenacity can overcome militarism, and was docked in Saint Paul at Watergate Marina on September 25, 2022 to raise awareness for their efforts; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, the City of Saint Paul calls on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by:
-actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals;
-renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first;
-ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack;
-taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and
-cancelling the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons; and be it further
RESOLVED that the City of Saint Paul calls on the United States to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; and be it finally
RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution will be sent to the Minnesota Congressional delegation and President Joseph R. Biden.