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A resolution to declare the Metropolitan Government’s opposition to nuclear weapons and to urge the United States government to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to take action to prevent nuclear war.
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WHEREAS, nine nations collectively have approximately 13,100 nuclear weapons in their arsenals, most of which are far more destructive than those that 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 U.S. president has the sole and unchecked authority to order the use of nuclear weapons; and
WHEREAS, the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent racial justice uprisings have highlighted the need for greater investment in our healthcare system and our communities; 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, a grassroots movement called “Back from the Brink: The Call to Prevent Nuclear War” has been endorsed by over 400 health, environmental, academic, peace, faith, and justice organizations and has resulted in resolutions approved by numerous municipalities, including the cities of Boston, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Washington DC, as well as the states of California and Oregon; and
WHEREAS, the United States, as well as Britain, China, France and Russia, are obligated under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) 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
WHEREAS, residents of Nashville, and all people, have the human right to live a life free from nuclear contamination and the threat posed by the use of nuclear weapons.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County urges 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 U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and
• cancelling the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons.
Section 2. That the Metropolitan Council further calls on the United States to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to take other actions necessary to prevent nuclear war.
Section 3. That this resolution shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County requiring it.