On April 2nd, Salt Lake City joined a growing number of municipalities and state legislatures to take a powerful stand against the threat that nuclear weapons pose to our communities and bring us back from the brink of nuclear war.
Citing the “existential threat to all higher life on Earth” and recognizing that the “detonation of even a single modern nuclear weapon on one of our cities would profoundly change the course of our history,” the resolution calls on the U.S. to support the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to work with other nations toward verifiable global disarmament. Additionally, it calls for a No First Use policy, ending any President’s sole authority to launch nuclear weapons, and canceling plans to modernize our nuclear arsenal with enhanced weapons.
The unanimous vote in support of the resolution was the culmination of cooperation among the Utah Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (UCAN), Mayor Jackie Biskupski and her staff, city council members and their staff, Susi Snyder (Managing Director of Don’t Bank on the Bomb), and concerned residents.
Speaking the next day, Susi Snyder reminded students at the Hinckley Institute at the University of Utah that “there’s no possible use of nuclear weapons that would not violate the core principles of international law.” She continued by saying that “horrible dictatorial regimes are chastised in the global community for targeting civilians, and that is what nuclear weapons are designed to do.”
Congratulations to Salt Lake City on this resolution and for making a strong statement against our wasteful and dangerous nuclear policies!
The full text of the Salt Lake City Joint Resolution Supporting the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons can be found here.
This resolution is part of a national grassroots campaign called Back from the Brink, which has support from prominent public health, science, environmental, faith-based, and justice organizations. Check out the Who’s on Board page to see a list of the 200+ endorsing organizations as well as all of the municipalities that have passed Back from the Brink resolutions.
