Portland, OR City Council Passes Resolution in Support of Bringing US Back from the Brink of Nuclear War November 15, 2019

Courtesy of Oregon PSR

Thanks to the hard work of Oregon PSR, on November 13, the Portland City Council in Oregon unanimously passed Resolution 1050 to declare Portland’s “opposition to nuclear weapons and urge the U.S. Federal Government to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and take action to prevent nuclear war.” The resolution is part of the Back from the Brink initiative.

The resolution was introduced by Commissioner Amanda Fritz, supported by Commissioner in Charge Chloe Eudaly and backed strongly by Oregon PSR and a coalition of interested groups. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler also supported the resolution.

Attendance at the City Council meeting was “huge,” noted Oregon PSR on social media in their announcement of the victory. Several speakers invited by Commissioner Fritz spoke about the human impact of nuclear weapons.

While encouraging the City Council to adopt the resolution and support U.S. action for nuclear disarmament, Oregon PSR advisory board member Yukiyo Kawano spoke about the legacy of U.S. normalization of nuclear violence and the huge numbers of Oregon tax dollars spent on nuclear weapons.

Kianna Angelo, Marshallese community member, founder of Living Islands and Compact of Free Association (COFA) Alliance board member, spoke about the people she had lost to cancer due to nuclear waste in the Marshall Islands and highlighted the health and safety impacts of nuclear weapons testing.

Oregon State Representative Tawna Sanchez (HD-43) delivered powerful testimony on the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear power, and Retired US Naval Reserve Commander Harvey Thorstad emphasized that nuclear weapons could easily wipe out humanity.

The City Council also unanimously approved a resolution urging to United States to support diplomacy with Iran instead of war, sanctions, or military escalation.

Some 2600 miles to the southwest of Portland, citizens in Honolulu, Hawai’i are also “thinking globally and acting locally.” On the occasion of the visit of the Golden Rule sailboat to the Hawaiian islands, local disarmament activists Helen Jaccard, Debbie Kimball and Ann Wright convinced the Honolulu City and County Council to go on record supporting nuclear disarmament. On Tuesday November 6, the Council voted unanimously on Resolution 19-262 declaring its support for the Golden Rule project and urging the United States to embrace the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by pursuing the Back from the Brink framework of policies.

The Golden Rule Project is an initiative of Veterans for Peace. Click here for more information about the Golden Rule sailboat.

Click here for more information on the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.