Nuclear Weapons and dirty politics

I was 17 the first time I took a stand against nuclear weapons.

The US was planning to build the neutron bomb near my hometown in Colorado, and I was outraged at the risk the bomb plant posed to the health of families living near the plant. I was sickened to think that a bomb built near my home could be used to kill many thousands of people. I knew I had to do something.

These many years later, I know how important our voices were in helping to close the Rocky Flats Plant near Denver. Today it is so important we not forget our collective power to make change.

The fact remains that as long as we have the power to destroy the planet and humanity many times over, we live with the unthinkable chance that a nuclear weapon will be used again, and the world will never be the same.

That’s why it’s up to us to organize and demand that these weapons be abolished. We are at a critical crossroads in our 60-year fight to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Can we count on your support with a donation?

Peace Action West has been leading a national coalition of 140 organizations working to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons worldwide, starting with passing a new treaty with Russia to reduce the size of American and Russian nuclear arsenals.

The treaty is called the New START, and it would be a crucial step towards a world without nuclear weapons. People around the world and across the political spectrum are aligning in a call for a nuclear weapons free world. New START is crucial because it would set the stage for bigger victories that lead us toward that goal, such as a total ban on nuclear testing.

If we fail to pass it, the door on more progress could slam shut and we’d be faced with an unthinkable prospect — leaving the threat of nuclear destruction to our children and grandchildren.

We are just 8 senators shy of making the biggest progress towards nuclear abolition in 20 years. But in spite of the stakes for our country, some hawkish Republicans in Congress are trying to stall, playing old partisan games with our security in the hopes of denying the Democrats a pre-election victory. That’s why we are leading a coordinated effort with groups around the country to make sure the treaty gets the support it deserves. Please click here to give $40, or whatever you can.

We are countering right-wing misinformation in the press aimed at stoking the public’s fears so they are driven to cling to nuclear weapons. We’ve got organizers on the phones, in the streets, and in DC, generating grassroots pressure. We’re funneling resources to Arizona, Utah and other crucial battleground states to win over key swing senators to ratify this treaty. As one of our organizers put it, “Americans overwhelmingly support getting rid of nukes and there’s no reason except dirty politics to block this treaty.”

We’ve been going all out to push for this treaty, but we can’t keep up the momentum unless we have your support to do it. Please click here to pitch in, and we’ll put your support right to work.