On Tuesday June 20, 2022, the South Portland City Council unanimously adopted a resolution “Calling Upon the United States Government to Lead a Global Effort to Prevent the Use of Nuclear Weapons” introduced by City Councilor Natalie West and proposed by the Maine chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), a nonprofit organization of health care providers, health professionals in training, and public health and citizen advocates who have shared concerns regarding public health.
“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. … Meanwhile, climate chaos is heightening global tensions and increasing the likelihood of armed conflict which could escalate to nuclear war,” said Dr. Jim Melloh, representative of the Maine Chapter of PSR.
As the resolution states, South Portland taxpayers pay a collective $4,950,667 in federal taxes each year on producing, deploying, and maintaining nuclear weapons, diverting crucial resources needed to assure the health and well-being of South Portland citizens.
“The Resolve is particularly appropriate at this time because city officials recently participated in the dedication of Samantha Smith Way, in honor of Maine’s youngest ambassador for peace,” said Councilor Natalie West. “In addition, the Veterans for Peace sailing vessel Golden Rule will visit South Portland next week, on Tuesday, June 27. Members of the Community are invited to visit the boat and talk to its sailors about its mission of sailing for a nuclear free world and a peaceful sustainable future.”
Nationally, H. Res. 77, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) on January 31, 2023, and co-sponsored by Maine’s Rep. Chellie Pingree, calls on the United States to adopt the Back from the Brink Campaign’s five policy prescriptions for reducing nuclear risks and preventing nuclear war:
• Pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals;
• Renouncing the option of first-use of nuclear weapons;
• Ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack;
• Taking U.S. nuclear weapons off of their hair-trigger launch status; and
• Canceling plans to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons.
South Portland now joins over 70 municipalities, counties and state legislative bodies across the country, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and in Maine, Portland, Bangor and Hallowell, that have adopted “Back from the Brink” resolutions.
“The health of Maine people, including the citizens of South Portland, in the final analysis is dependent on our world eliminating nuclear weapons for which there can be no medical response,” said Dr. Lani Graham of the Maine Medical Association. “Our national representatives depend on states, communities, and average citizens to express concerns and speak up about the dangers posed by these weapons as well as suggesting important strategies that can take us in a better direction.”
Testimony in support of the resolution was also given by representatives from the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace and the Maine Public Health Association.
