The Boston city council has called on the United States to ratify the United Nations’ “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” The resolution calls on federal leaders to make nuclear disarmament “the centerpiece of our national security policy”. It notes that the U.S. “maintains several hundred nuclear missiles in underground silos on hair-trigger alert,…
Hearing on Anti-Nuclear Weapon Bill in Massachusetts State Legislature Wed July 21 @ 10:00 am – 12:30 pm EDT If you are not able to testify virtually, Please submit written testimony to Dave McNeill ([email protected]) and Cara Libman ([email protected]). The state legislature’s Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security will hear testimony on two bills…
On Wednesday, September 18th, 2019, the City Council of Easthampton voted unanimously to pass a resolution “Calling for the US to Join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” The passage of this resolution follows efforts by residents and activists to petition their local government to take a stand on an issue of global…
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…
Written 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,…
Written 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…
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:…
Written 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…
(NORTHAMPTON, MA) Last Wednesday September 26, at a ceremony on the steps of Northampton city hall, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz issued an executive policy order establishing a city policy barring, to the extent practical and permitted by law, Northampton from investing and contracting with nuclear weapons companies. Under the executive policy order Mayor Narkewicz…
Agenda Item #11 – Future of Life Institute Professor Max Tegmark and Lucas Perry represented the Future of Life Institute. Tegmark reminded the Board that the Cambridge City Council had voted to encourage the Board to divest from firms involved in producing or upgrading nuclear weapons. He stated that he hoped to assist the Board…