Update

Standing up against torture shouldn’t be a cause for celebration; it should be a baseline. But in the post-9/11 United States, John McCain’s moral clarity that torture is wrong, always, was critical to creating a broader public conversation and consensus.

The Senate took an important step forward in support of conflict prevention with introduction of the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction (GFVR) Act, S.3368, on August 22.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to help train the newest cohort of Advocacy Corps organizers from all around the country. This year cohort will be organizing their communities for the next ten months to lobby Congress to stop the militarization of police.

In the face of nationwide political crises, it can be hard to feel like the voices and actions of any one person—much less my voice, or my actions—can make a difference. But FCNL’s 75-year history of advocacy shows that in fact, it is the work of individuals, of constituents bringing their stories to their members of Congress’ offices, that make change in Washington possible.

The White House has agreed to include sentencing reforms in the ongoing criminal justice reform negotiations.

The administration is reportedly considering another drastic cut in refugee arrivals next fiscal year. Take action to ensure your members of Congress are weighing in.

On the anniversary of the Nagasaki Bombings, FCNL Friend in Washington Diana Roose spoke at the Quaker Welcome Center with Friends about the first interviews of Nagasaki survivors on this day of remembrance for Nagasaki.

Congress just passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act. In it, Congress approved the Trump administration’s request for a new submarine-launched “low-yield” nuclear warhead.

The impending sale of more U.S. bombs to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provides Congress with an opportunity to act to stop the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. The U.S. government is literally refueling the bombers and arming the war that threatens millions of Yemenis with famine, mass starvation, and a historic resurgence of cholera.

On Tuesday morning, I greeted a flock of 5th graders from Moses Brown School in Rhode Island. These ten-year-old children had arrived at FCNL for lobby training.