RESOLUTIONS SUPPORTING THE COMMENCEMENT OF
NEGOTIATIONS ON THE ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND SUPPORTING THE “MAYORS
FOR PEACE” INITIATIVE.
WHEREAS,
as long as nuclear weapons exist, cities around the world will be vulnerable to
instantaneous devastation on a scale exceeding even that experienced by
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945; and
WHEREAS, a nuclear war, an accidental
missile launch or use of a nuclear weapon by terrorists would devastate many
cities and their residents; and
WHEREAS, any nuclear attack would
obliterate city and town halls across
WHEREAS, the world’s foremost line of
defense against nuclear dangers is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
which is currently in its seventh review cycle, with all parties to the treaty
scheduled to meet to ensure that the
treaty is being fully implemented; and
WHEREAS, all other weapons of mass
destruction have been prohibited by international agreement and are being
eliminated under international control, and the nuclear weapons states party to
the NPT have undertaken to pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear
disarmament; and
WHEREAS, the International Court of
Justice unanimously found in 1996 that all states were obligated to bring to a
conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects,
under strict and effective international control; and
WHEREAS, the World Conference of Mayors
for Peace has launched an international campaign calling on the 2005 NPT Review
Conference to accelerate negotiations on the elimination of nuclear weapons, to
be concluded by 2010 and fully implemented by 2020, a timetable known as the “2020
Vision”; and
WHEREAS, the mayors of Massachusetts
communities, including Northampton, Holyoke, Amesbury and Easthampton have
joined the Mayors for Peace Initiative to reduce the nuclear threat in our
world; and
WHEREAS, weapons of mass destruction have
no place in a civilized world; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Massachusetts House of
Representatives supports the efforts of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in calling
upon the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress to support efforts
by the 2005 NPT Review Conference to commence negotiations on the prohibition
and elimination of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons materials; and be is
further
RESOLVED, that a copy of these resolutions be forwarded by the Clerk of the
House of Representatives to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the U.S. Congress
and the President of the
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ADOPTED,
Salvatore DiMasi (Speaker of the House)
Steven T.
James (Clerk of the House)
Offered by:
Representative
Peter V. Kocot
Representative
Mary E. Grant
Representative
Stephen Kulik
Representative
Byron Rushing
Representative
Alice K. Wolf
Representative
Patricia A. Haddad
Representative
Frank I. Smizik
Representative
Carl M. Sciortino, Jr.
Representative
Denis E. Guyer
Representative
John W. Scibak
Representative
Barbara A. L’Italien
Representative
Matthew C. Patrick
Representative
Anne M. Paulsen
Representative
Eric Turkington
Representative
Ellen Story
Representative
Kathleen M. Teaha
Representative
Cheryl A. Rivera