Written by Ben Purden On May 13th, 2019, the residents of Belchertown, Massachusetts voted by majority to pass Article 33 at the annual town meeting, creating a resolution calling for the US to join the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Notwithstanding the lack of favorable attention the executive branch of…
DetailsWritten by Ben Purden Once every twelve months, usually in springtime, residents of towns in Massachusetts meet to discuss and vote on issues of town importance. This year in seven towns across western Massachusetts, residents considered something of global, existential importance: the abolition of nuclear weapons. The residents of Chesterfield voted on May 13,…
DetailsWritten by Ben Purden On May 4th, 2019, residents of Conway gathered at their annual town meeting as they do every year, to vote on issues such as the town budget, town laws, articles put forward by town boards, and citizen petitions. This year was no different, except that residents weighed in on a…
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Written by Ben Purden Annual town meetings are a New England tradition dating back to colonial times. In what Henry David Thoreau called “the true Congress,” residents engage in direct democracy on matters affecting them all. Residents in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, made their May 4th, 2019 meeting a forum about an issue of global importance:…
DetailsWritten by Ben Purden On April 10th, 2019, residents of the town of Montague, Massachusetts, weighed in on a matter of great national and international significance: the abolition of nuclear weapons. At the annual town meeting, a tradition of direct democracy called “the true Congress” by Henry David Thoreau, Article 38 was passed, creating…
DetailsSeptember 23, 2019: A NuclearBan.US poll, conducted on its behalf this week[1] by YouGov, reveals that 49% of Americans think that the US should work with the other nuclear armed countries to eliminate all nuclear weapons from all countries, in line with the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (“Nuclear Ban Treaty”). Only 32% think that the US should continue…
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September 20, 2019: On a day that millions of people across the globe are out on strike to raise awareness about the climate crisis, a major milestone has been achieved in the race to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. As of today, the US now has more installed wind power than nuclear power, as measured…
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On September 11, 2019 Congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin became the seventh serving member of the US Congress to sign the ICAN Parliamentary/Legislative Pledge. Over 1,000 legislators in 30 countries have so far signed the pledge, which commits them to working for the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons…
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Frances Crowe with David Narkewicz, Mayor of Northampton, showing her his Executive Order to align the city with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Quaker peace activist Frances Crowe (1919-2019) spent her whole life fighting for peace, justice and the environment, and of all the causes she fought for, the one she…
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By Alice Slater, author and nuclear disarmament advocate. Alice Slater is a member of the Board of World Beyond War, UN NGO Representative of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and a longtime member of CODEPINK. August 6 and 9 mark 74 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where only one nuclear…
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