Milwaukee Common Council Judiciary and Legislation Committee Passes the Back from the Brink Resolution
A "Substitute Resolution relating to the City of Milwaukee's position on nuclear disarmament"(number 241660) was introduced to the Common Council by Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, and it was approved by the Judiciary and Legislation Committee.
Back from the Brink of Nuclear War Campaign:
Now more than ever, we need to change our nuclear weapons policies. In January 2023, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight – the closest it has ever been. But instead of fulfilling obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to move in good faith toward eliminating our nuclear arsenal, the U.S. and other nuclear nations are building new, enhanced nuclear weapons.
- Actively pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
- Renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first (which China has done).
- End the sole, unchecked authority of any U.S. President to launch a nuclear attack.
- Take U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger (high) alert.
- Cancel the plan to replace the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal with enhanced weapons.
We're asking you to call your alderperson now, before the resolution goes to the full Common Council, on April 2, 2025.
- Ask them to vote for the Back from the Brink Resolution (File number #241660)
- Tell them in a few words why nuclear disarmament is important to you. See details below.
Find your Common Council member and Aldermanic District by calling City Hall at 414-286-2221 OR submitting your address on the My Milwaukee Home webpage (https://itmdapps.milwaukee.gov/MyMilwaukeeHome/indexSidebarNew.jsp#0) and then clicking on Elected Officials.
Thanks,
Pam Richard, Peace Action WI
[email protected], text or call 414-269-9525.
The resolution was organized by Peace Action WI, Veterans for Peace-Milwaukee, the United Nations Association of Milwaukee, Physicians for Social Responsibility-WI, and endorsed by a coalition of 17 peace, justice, religious, environmental, and civic organizations.
The Milwaukee Back from the Brink Resolution
The resolution asking our federal government to adopt policies to reduce risk and prevent nuclear war has been introduced to the Common Council by Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic and referred to the Judiciary and Legislation Committee for its March 17 meeting. The resolution (number 241660) is endorsed by a coalition of 17 peace, justice, religious, environmental, and civic organizations listed below.
The Milwaukee Common Council calls on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by:
Nuclear Weapons Stockpile
The world currently has approximately 12,000 nuclear weapons, 90% of which are in the stockpiles of the US and Russia. Approximately 900 in the US and 900 in Russia are located on missiles that are on high alert and can be launched within minutes. Once launched, these missiles cannot be recalled, disabled or intercepted. If a bomb) were detonated above the city of Milwaukee, WI, over one quarter of the city’s residents would die immediately, and another two quarters of the residents would suffer serious injuries.
A limited war could result in the immediate deaths of 20 million people and climate disruption leading to agricultural failures and the starvation of 2 billion people. A full scale nuclear war between the US and Russia could result in hundreds of millions of deaths. It could also result in a nuclear winter and collapse of agriculture, worldwide famine and the end of civilization as we know it.
Geopolitical Conflicts, Human/Technical Error:Since the 1950’s, there have been numerous instances of accidents and near launches of nuclear weapons due to technical and human error. Modern cyberterrorism and geopolitical conflicts further increase the risk of a nuclear attack. Foreign policy experts say that because of these risks, the safest route is to eliminate all nuclear weapons.
Costs: The Congressional Budget Office estimates the ten year cost of US nuclear forces from 2023 through 2032 will be $75.6 billion dollars a year. To end extreme poverty by 2030 would cost about $70 billion per year. Based on Milwaukee’s per capita income, residents paid $108 million in federal income tax for the US nuclear weapon programs in fiscal year 2024.
Back from the Brink Campaign
The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force in 2021, making nuclear weapons illegal. However, the 9 nations with nuclear weapons did not join the Treaty. The Back from the Brink campaign is a grass roots effort to convince our US government to join the Treaty by urging cities, counties and states to speak out. Back from the Brink Resolutions have been passed by 78 US cities and counties and 6 state governments.. including Madison and Milwaukee County. The Resolution calls on US leaders to:
- Actively pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
- Renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first (which China has done).
- End the sole, unchecked authority of any U.S. President to launch a nuclear attack.
- Take U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger (high) alert.
- Cancel the plan to replace the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal with enhanced weapons.
Milwaukee Back from the Brink Resolution Endorsers
Peace Action-Wisconsin, Milwaukee Veterans for Peace, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Wisconsin, United Nations Association of Greater Milwaukee, 350MKE, Marquette University Center for Peacemaking, Sierra Club-Great Waters Group, Milwaukee Friends Meeting, Greater Milwaukee Green Party, Zao MKE Church (United Methodist), Milwaukee Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition, Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, WI Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom-Milwaukee, Interfaith Peace Working Group, Building Unity, Our Wisconsin Revolution psr pr 2/18/25