1. This is the legislation we are supporting in Massachusetts:
Nuclear Weapons Commission Bill:
S.1555 (Senate)/H.3688 (House)
This bill would create a citizens commission to investigate the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and what should be done about it.
- This bill was voted favorably out of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
- 63% of MA adults, including 80% of MA Democrats, support this bill
- The bill is now sitting with Ways and Means Committees in the House and Senate
- Full text of both bills available here: S.1555/H.3688.
- A dossier explaining the rationale for the bill is available here: Nuclear Weapons and Massachusetts:
The Case for Creating a Citizens’ Commission
2. Please write to your state legislators urging them to support this bill.
State legislators, and especially the leadership and those on the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, need to know that people of Massachusetts care about the threat posed by nuclear weapons and that we want them to do something about it. They want to hear, above all, from their own constituents. You are free to write to any legislator you want, but they are likely to read it only if you live in their District, so we need you to write to your own state legislators and to encourage your friends and colleagues in other parts of the state to write to their own legislators.
3. Who are your state legislators?
If you don’t know, use this link to find your State Rep and State Senator and their email addresses: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
4. Are either of them on one of these PRIORITY lists here?
Senate Co-sponsors:
| Name | District/Address |
|---|---|
| Joanne M. Comerford | Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester |
| James B. Eldridge Adam Hinds |
Middlesex and Worcester Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hamden |
House Co-sponsors:
| Name | District/Address |
|---|---|
| Lindsay N. Sabadosa | 1st Hampshire |
| Nika C. Elugardo | 15th Suffolk |
| Natalie M. Higgins | 4th Worcester |
| Jack Patrick Lewis | 7th Middlesex |
| Erika Uyterhoeven | 27th Middlesex |
| Tommy Vitolo | 15th Norfolk |
Co-sponsors of this identical bill in 2019:
| Name | District/Address |
|---|---|
| Brian Murray | 10th Worcester |
| David Rogers | 24th Middlesex |
| Julian Cyr | Cape and Islands |
| Kay Khan | 11th Middlesex |
| Mike Connolly | 26th Middlesex |
| Mindy Domb | 3rd Hampshire |
| Natalie Blais | 1st Franklin |
| Paul Mark | 2nd Berkshire |
Key members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee:
| Name | District/Address |
|---|---|
| Michael Rodrigues, Chair | First Bristol and Plymouth |
| Cindy Friedman, Vice Chair | Fourth Middlesex |
| Michael Moore | Second Worcester |
| Ryan Fattman | Worcester and Norfolk |
Key members of the House Ways and Means Committee:
| Name | District/Address |
|---|---|
| Aaron Michlewitz, chair | 3rd Suffolk |
| Anne-Margaret Ferrante, Vice ch. | 5th Essex |
| Christina Minicucci | 14th Essex |
| Chynah Tyler | 7th Suffolk |
| David Biele | 4th Suffolk |
Key members of the State House Leadership:
| Name | District/Address |
|---|---|
| Karen Spilka, Senate President | Second Middlesex and Norfolk |
| Cynthia Creem, Maj. Leader | First Middlesex and Norfolk |
| Ronald Mariano, House Speaker | 3rd Norfolk |
| Kate Hogan, Speaker Pro Temp. | 3rd Middlesex |
4a. If YES (my state rep and/or senator is on one of the above priority lists) –
- Click on their name above, and follow instructions at the top of the page that opens.
- Edit and personalize the letter, by adding something personal at the beginning or the end to make it your letter!
- You can edit the subject line however you want it.
- BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER.
- Send. (BCC will go to info@NuclearBan.US so we have a record of letters sent to key legislators.)
4b. If NO (neither my state rep nor senator is on one of the above priority lists) –
- Write to your Rep and/or Senator at the email address you can find by clicking on the name you found from this link: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/ (or use this basic formula: FirstName.LastName@mahouse.gov or FirstName.LastName@masenate.gov)
- Copy and paste this Generic Letter into the body of your email.
- Edit and personalize the letter by adding something personal at the beginning or the end to make it your letter!
- ADD A SUBJECT LINE. Suggestion: “Please support S.1555/H.3688”
- Send a copy of your letter to the Senate President and Speaker of the House, by copying to the Cc: line:
- ronald.mariano@mahouse.gov
- karen.spilka@masenate.gov
- BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER.
- Send.
5. Great! You’ve just helped move the world one small step closer to eliminating nuclear weapons!
Thank you.
6. If you have already contacted your state rep and your state senator, or you prefer to write to other people you know, think about who else you know in Massachusetts that might be willing to write their own letters. Extra points if they happen to live in the district of someone on one of the above PRIORITY lists, especially Speaker of the House, Rep. Ronald Mariano, or another member of either Ways and Means Committee. Please direct them to the nuclearban.us/mass page and offer to help them write letters if needed.
