Title
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE UNITED STATES EMBRACING THE GOALS AND PROVISIONS OF THE TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
Body
BY COUNCILORS RANDORF AND MAYOU:
WHEREAS, nine nations have approximately 13,100 nuclear weapons in their arsenals, most of which are far more destructive than those which killed hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945; and
WHEREAS, the detonation of even a small number of these weapons could have catastrophic human and environmental consequences that could affect everyone on the planet; and
WHEREAS, the United States maintains several hundred nuclear missiles in underground silos on hair-trigger alert, capable of being launched within minutes after a presidential order, which greatly increases the risk of an accidental, mistaken or unauthorized launch; and
WHEREAS, the United States continues to reserve the right to use nuclear weapons first, which reduces the threshold for nuclear use and makes a nuclear war more likely; and
WHEREAS, the United States president has the sole and unchecked authority to order the use of nuclear weapons; and
WHEREAS, over the next 30 years, the United States plans to spend an estimated $1.7 trillion to replace its entire nuclear arsenal and the bombers, missiles and submarines that deliver them with more capable, more usable versions; and
WHEREAS, taxpayers spend over $2 million every hour of every day to maintain the U.S. nuclear arsenal; and
WHEREAS, the United States, as well as Britain, China, France and Russia, are obligated under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to take concrete steps toward eliminating their nuclear arsenals; and
WHEREAS, in July 2017, 122 nations approved the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on January 22, 2021 making it illegal under international law to develop, test, produce, manufacture, or otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, and the city of Duluth expects to be part of a nation that follows both the spirit and the letter of international law.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the city of Duluth, Minnesota, calls on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by:
• Actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals;
• Renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first;
• Ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack;
• Taking United States nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and
• Cancelling the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the city of Duluth, Minnesota supports the United States in embracing the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution calls on the United States to actively pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals; renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first; end the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack; take the United States nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and cancel the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons in order to reduce the threat of nuclear war.