2023 -- H 5973

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

URGING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PURSUE A BROAD RANGE OF

MEASURES TO REDUCE THE DANGER OF NUCLEAR WAR, TO SIGN AND RATIFY

THE TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS (TPNW), TO MAKE

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT THE CENTERPIECE OF OUR NATIONAL SECURITY

POLICY, AND TO SPEARHEAD A GLOBAL EFFORT TO PREVENT NUCLEAR WAR

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Ackerman, Morales, Bennett, Serpa, Edwards, Slater,
Donovan, Ajello, Diaz, and McNamara

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2023

     Referred To: House State Government & Elections

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     WHEREAS, Nuclear weapons are the most destructive weapons ever created by

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mankind, with immense destructive capacity and lingering radiation effects after detonation; and

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     WHEREAS, Ninety percent of these weapons are in the hands of the United States and

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Russia, and the rest are held by seven other countries: China, France, Israel, India, North Korea,

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Pakistan, and the United Kingdom; and

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     WHEREAS, The use of even a tiny fraction of these weapons could cause worldwide

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climate disruption and global famine; for example, as few as 100 Hiroshima-sized, small bombs

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by modern standards, would put at least five million tons of soot into the atmosphere and cause

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climate disruption across the planet, cutting food production and putting two billion people at risk

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of starvation; and

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     WHEREAS, A large-scale nuclear war would kill hundreds of millions of people directly

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and cause unimaginable environmental damage and catastrophic climate disruption by dropping

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temperatures across the planet to levels not seen since the ice age; under such conditions, the vast

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majority of the human race would starve and it is possible we would become extinct as a species;

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and

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     WHEREAS, Since the height of the Cold War, the United States and Russia have reduced

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their active weapons by more than 25,000 nuclear weapons, but approximately 4,000 still exist on

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both sides, thousands of which are on alert for use on short notice; and

 

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     WHEREAS, Under current federal law, the President has the authority to unilaterally

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initiate the use of nuclear weapons, and during times of crisis, individuals lower in the chain of

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command might mistakenly do so; and

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     WHEREAS, Despite assurances that these arsenals exist solely to guarantee that they are

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never used, there have been many occasions when nuclear armed states have prepared to use

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these weapons, and war has been averted at the last instance; and

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     WHEREAS, The power of the United States stockpile of nuclear weapons is too

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devastating, and the result of their use too irrevocable to be left to the sole authority of the

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President; and

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     WHEREAS, Nuclear weapons do not possess some magical quality that prevents their

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use; and

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     WHEREAS, Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara said, in speaking about the

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Cuban Missile Crisis, "It was luck that prevented nuclear war... yet our nuclear policy cannot be

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rationally based on a hope that our luck will continue"; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States maintains nuclear missiles on hair-trigger alert, capable

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of being launched within minutes after a presidential order, greatly increasing the risk of

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accidental, mistaken, or unauthorized launch; and

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     WHEREAS, As the effects of climate change place increased stress on communities

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around the world and intensify the likelihood of conflict, the danger of nuclear war will grow; and

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     WHEREAS, The planned expenditure of more than $1 trillion to enhance our nuclear

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arsenal, and the ever so many more trillions worldwide for similar expenditures by other nuclear

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weapons countries will not only increase the risk of nuclear disaster, but fuel a global arms race

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and divert crucial resources needed to assure the well-being of the American people and peoples

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all over the world; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States taxpayers spend over $4 million every hour of every day

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on nuclear weapons; and

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     WHEREAS, There is an alternative to this march toward nuclear war; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States, as well as the United Kingdom, China, France and

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Russia, are obligated under the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to take

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concrete steps toward eliminating their nuclear arsenals but, since 1970, such steps have not been

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forthcoming; and

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     WHEREAS, In July of 2017, the United Nations adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of

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Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and as of January 22, 2021, the Treaty went into effect; and

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     WHEREAS, The Treaty (TPNW) makes it illegal under international law to develop, test,

 

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produce, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile, transfer, use, or threaten the use

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of nuclear weapons, and sets out procedures for nuclear-armed signatories to destroy their

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existing nuclear stockpiles; and

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     WHEREAS, A public renouncing of the option of launching a first strike would reduce

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tensions and may invite reciprocal public renunciations; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States, as well all other nuclear weapons powers are not yet

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signatories to this Treaty (TPNW); and

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     WHEREAS, A leadership role for the United States in the elimination of the existence of

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nuclear weapons is appropriate and desirable and could lead to new and fruitful international

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negotiations toward their elimination; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

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urges the federal government to spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by renouncing

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the option of using nuclear weapons in a "first strike", ending the President's sole authority to

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launch a nuclear attack, taking nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, canceling any plan to

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replace or modernize its nuclear arsenal with enhanced nuclear weapons, and, actively pursue a

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verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals; and be it

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further

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     RESOLVED, That this House hereby further urges the President and the Senate of the

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United States to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; and be it

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further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Majority

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and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the

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United States House of Representatives, and each member of the Rhode Island Congressional

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Delegation.

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