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JOINT RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO LEAD A GLOBAL EFFORT TO PREVENT NUCLEAR WAR
WE, your Memorialists, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Maine now assembled in the First Regular Session, most respectfully present and petition the President of the United States and the United States Congress as follows:
WHEREAS, global arsenals have over 14,000 nuclear weapons and most 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 anywhere in the world could have catastrophic human, environmental and economic consequences that could affect everyone on the planet; and
WHEREAS,  a large-scale nuclear war would likely kill hundreds of millions of people directly and cause unimaginable environmental damage, producing conditions wherein billions of people would likely die from starvation or disease; and
WHEREAS,  the United States maintains nuclear missiles on hair-trigger alert, capable of being launched within minutes after a presidential order, greatly increasing the risk of an accidental, mistaken or unauthorized launch; and
WHEREAS,  the United States, as well as the United Kingdom, China, France and Russia, are obligated under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 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 makes 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,  United States taxpayers spend over $4 million every hour of every day on nuclear weapons and the planned expenditure of more than $1.2 trillion over the next 30 years to operate and enhance the United States' nuclear arsenal will exacerbate nuclear dangers by fueling a global arms race and diverting crucial resources needed to ensure the well-being of Maine people; and
WHEREAS,  in 2017, Maine taxpayers averaged $192.33 per capita, with the State collectively paying an estimated $257 million, in federal taxes toward the cost of producing, deploying and maintaining nuclear weapons; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, your Memorialists, on behalf of the people we represent, take this opportunity to call on the President of the United States and the United States Congress to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first, ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack, taking United States nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, cancelling the plan to replace the country's entire arsenal with enhanced weapons and actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals; and be it further
RESOLVED: That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, and to each Member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.