For Immediate Release
Contacts: Louise Coleman (617) 817-6706 , Timmon Wallis (631) 507-8686
On Wednesday, April 13, at 11: 30 am in the 4th floor Café in the Massachusetts State House, State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa will introduce a new dossier called Nuclear Weapons and Massachusetts: The Case for Creating a Citizens Commission.
NuclearBan.US, a national organization founded in Massachusetts, compiled this document. It calls on the Massachusetts state legislature to vote on bills H.3688/S.1555, currently in the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.
These bills would establish a Citizens’ Commission to investigate what options are available to reduce and eliminate the threat posed by nuclear weapons, and to make recommendations for Massachusetts resolutions and possible legislation.
There is currently heightened concern about nuclear threats being made in relation to the war in Ukraine, although the danger of nuclear war or accidental detonation is ever present. Massachusetts is a potential target, because it is home to important nuclear weapons facilities and corporations as well as culturally significant landmarks.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force as international law in January 2021. This “Nuclear Ban Treaty” is intended to reduce the nuclear danger to zero, but enforcing it may also affect jobs with Raytheon, General Dynamics, Draper Labs and ten other nuclear weapon-producing companies that have facilities in Massachusetts. The Commission would explore how those jobs might be converted to green technologies or other important industries.
The presentation of the dossier is open to the public and will be followed by citizen visits to the offices of state legislators. For read the dossier, to attend the presentation, or to participate in lobbying, see www.nuclearban.us/launch-of-ma nuclear-weapons-dossier/.
