After a year of Zoom meetings, Back from the Brink CT decided it was time to meet in person.
This grew to holding an open meeting dedicated to launching their 2025 campaigns focused on increasing awareness of the threat of nuclear weapons and advocating for the Connecticut Congressional Delegation to co-sponsor the successor to H. Res. 77 in the new Congress.
More than 30 people, including many newcomers to the Hub, gathered at the Hartford Quaker Meetinghouse. The event opened with Ira Helfand, an internationally recognized leader of the nuclear abolition movement, providing his analysis of the current political and social environment as related to advocating for nuclear weapon abolition—followed by a Q&A session.
After Ira’s presentation, the gathering divided into working groups determined by congressional district. In these groups, attendees explored advocacy and education options focused on advancing abolition.
Some ideas that emerged were strategies for advocating with their representatives to cosponsor the successor bill to H. Res. 77, encouraging state and municipal legislative bodies to pass resolutions supporting nuclear weapon abolition, outreach to labor unions, and direct actions aimed at reaching diverse peoples to educate and motivate them around nuclear weapon costs and risks.
Almost everyone stayed for the whole afternoon and actively participated in the program. Not only did having an in-person event attract new people, but those who attended felt energized and ready to take on the challenges presented by the new administration.
