Veterans For Peace John Day Chapter 007 of Los Angeles, CA has been working with a coalition to support a resolution for the Los Angeles City Council that shows support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The Resolution (Koretz) 18-0002-S94 was finally passed this week! The resolution calls for the core policy positions of the Back from the Brink campaign - supporting the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and key measures: ending the President's sole, unchecked authority to launch a nuclear attack, taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, and canceling U.S. plans to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons.
A note from VFP Member, Kathleen Hernandez:
"I wanted to share this Thank You with all of you as well. One of the most wonderful things for me today was meeting the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and realizing their long dedication and gratitude for all of us standing with them. One of them is also a US Korean War vet and I hope he might join VFP.
Also what is so powerful is the incredible coalition we all realize working together makes and the enthusiasm to keep working together going forward beginning with CA State Assembly Resolution.All of you are a part of this and I would like to bring on more CA chapters and also encourage other chapters in VFP to start building resolutions up in their cities and States as this vote in Los Angeles is sure to realize others."
Veterans For Peace, both the National Office and the local Chapter, have written a letter of support to council members:
To the Honorable Los Angeles City Council,
Veterans For Peace, a national organization of over 3,000 members, joins our Los Angeles Chapter 007, to fully support Resolution (Koretz) 18-0002-S94, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We believe that Resolution (Koretz) 18-0002-S94 is an urgent and timely resolution.
We fully support, that by adoption of this Resolution, the City of Los Angeles hereby includes in its 2017-2018 Federal Legislative Program SUPPORT for the United States to enter into the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and making nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of its national security policy.
We do fully join in the call for the core policy positions of the Back from the Brink campaign - supporting the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and key measures: ending the President's sole, unchecked authority to launch a nuclear attack, taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, and canceling U.S. plans to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons.
Veterans For Peace continues to applaud the adoption of a Nuclear Ban Treaty and has called on U.S. to sign immediately and is gratified that so many U.S. cities are working to pass their own support for the Treaty.
On July 7th, 2017, the United Nations approved a legally binding Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. At last, the world now has the first-ever treaty to ban all nuclear weapons.
The day the treaty was signed, the U.S. issued a statement that said "We do not intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to it." The U.S., the sole remaining superpower, is developing new, more accurate and more lethal nuclear weapons, while deploying "missile defenses" that make a nuclear first strike more possible and more likely.
Veterans For Peace is dismayed that the U.S. refuses to sign the monumental treaty that will make the world a safer place. The Treaty is a victory for humanity and the shared natural world. It brings Veterans For Peace closer than ever to achieving our mission to abolish war by forwarding our goal of of ending the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons.
Veterans For Peace remains committed to fulfilling our mission, redoubling our efforts to ensure that the United States ratifies the treaty and eliminate nuclear weapons entirely. Let this be the generation that will finally ban nuclear weapons.
It's not just about peace and justice; it's about the survival of all life on earth.
Sincerely,
Gerry Condon,
President, Veterans For Peace
Michael Lindley
on behalf of Veterans For Peace John Day, Chapter 007, Los Angles, CA