Last Thursday, BftB team members, activists, and Hub leaders gathered online for a virtual phone bank. Together we called the offices of 130 mayors, city councilors, and state legislators from around the country, asking them to sign onto our letter to Congress urging support for H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323, the two congressional BftB resolutions. Our core, constant message: nuclear weapons are a local issue and our communities and voices matter.
It was an empowering, inspiring gathering – one that reminded us that we are stronger and more effective when we work together. Community, connection, and conversation are so important, particularly at this time when millions of people are suffering, and so much of what we hold dear is under assault. We’re also in a cultural and political moment that we nuclear abolitionists have to seize.
Last month, A House of Dynamite, an all-too-realistic movie from famed director Kathryn Bigelow about a nuclear attack on the United States was released, tallying up 22.1 million views in its first three days. The film is a powerful indictment and warning about U.S. nuclear policy, exposing the failings and unacceptable risks of “nuclear deterrence,” and why spending trillions of dollars on President Trump’s Golden Dome won’t save us or prevent nuclear war. Having watched the film, no doubt many more people are thinking about nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, President Trump sent shockwaves of concern and confusion around the world on October 30th when he announced on social media that the United States plans to resume nuclear explosive testing, something no country except North Korea has done for over three decades.
Three weeks later, there is no more clarity about what the president meant or what his administration intends to do in this regard. On November 2nd, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the U.S. was not planning to conduct “nuclear explosions” and that people in Nevada should have “no worries” about seeing mushroom clouds, but hours later President Trump seemingly contradicted that statement in an interview with 60 Minutes.
But one thing is certain – if the U.S. does resume nuclear explosive testing, other countries will follow suit (Russia has said it would “respond in kind”), and the global nuclear arms race now underway will go into overdrive, bringing the world even closer to the nuclear brink. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking with only 76 days before New START expires, which is the last remaining agreement between the U.S. and Russia limiting the size of each country’s strategic nuclear arsenals.
So what do we do? What does seizing this moment look like?
Back from the Brink, along with experts and advocates within the arms control and disarmament community – including our allies in Congress and folks in Nevada – are pulling out all of the stops to push back on this horrible, dangerous idea to resume nuclear explosive testing.
Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate prohibiting the resumption of nuclear explosive testing – which would take place at the Nevada National Security Site. (In May, the Nevada legislature unanimously approved AJR 13, a bipartisan resolution calling on the United States to maintain its 32-year-old moratorium on nuclear explosive testing).
Our phone bank is one example of how we are seizing this moment to bring more attention to the issue, cultivate more leadership from members of Congress and local/state officials, and bring more folks into the movement. And it’s working.
In the last two weeks, more members of the House and Senate have cosponsored H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323, which includes specific language opposing the resumption of nuclear explosive testing and urges the U.S. to negotiate a follow-on agreement with Russia to New START. Also, many more folks are engaging with our campaign on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and YouTube. Over 100 local and state officials have already signed our open letter to Congress, and we hope to get many more of them to sign on with a plan to release the letter and send it to Capitol Hill in early 2026.
These initiatives are effective – more people are paying attention. Which brings us back to the question of what more can each of us do.
One easy answer is more conversation, more talking to each other. Next Thursday, many of us will be gathering and spending time with family, friends, and neighbors. Perhaps some of them have watched A House of Dynamite or heard about President Trump’s nuclear testing announcement. What can you share with them about why you care about this issue and why you are involved with Back from the Brink? What concerns and ideas do people have about how we can keep our families, communities, and country safe? What can you tell them about why nuclear weapons are not the answer? (And if you’re looking to brush up on some basics before these conversations, you can read our Beginner’s Guide.)
We have to model what we are asking heads of state, diplomats, policy makers and elected officials to do – talk to each other. Because the only way we will achieve a world free of nuclear weapons is through dialogue, diplomacy, and cooperation.
