Portsmouth, NH Calling on the US Government to Lead a Global Effort to Prevent Nuclear War

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A resolution of Portsmouth, NH calling on the US government to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war WHEREAS, global arsenals have over 14,000 nuclear weapons, and most are far more destructive than those that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945; WHEREAS, the detonation of even a small number of these weapons anywhere in the world could have catastrophic human, environmental, and economic consequences that could affect everyone on the planet including in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; WHEREAS, a large-scale nuclear war could kill hundreds of millions of people directly and cause unimaginable environmental damage, producing conditions wherein billions of people could die from starvation or disease; WHEREAS, the United States maintains nuclear missiles in prompt launch status, capable of being launched within minutes, which greatly increases the risk of an accidental, mistaken or unauthorized launch; WHEREAS, the United States, as well as Britain, China, France and Russia, are obligated under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to take concrete steps toward eliminating their nuclear arsenals; WHEREAS, in July 2017, 122 nations approved the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which makes it illegal under international law to develop, test, produce, manufacture, or otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire calls on the United States government to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by: • renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first; • ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack; • taking U.S. nuclear weapons off of their prompt launch status; • cancelling the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons; and • actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to each member of New Hampshire’s Congressional Delegation. .

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