Updates & Resources • Friends Committee on National Legislation

Reflections on the 30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

On Nov. 9, 1989, something that had been permanent evaporated—and the impossible suddenly, stunningly, became real.

By Anthony Wier
Issues: Peacebuilding, Nuclear Weapons

Update US Maximum Pressure Policy: Punishing the Poor and Ailing in Iran

The Trump administration doubled down on its maximum pressure policy approach to Iran with new sanctions, this time targeting Iran’s construction sector, which—according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo— is under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

By Parissa Joukar
Issues: Nuclear Weapons, Middle East & Iran

Action Alert Stop Deployment of the New “Low-Yield” Nuclear Warhead Before It’s Too Late

Congress’s window to prevent the deployment of a dangerous new nuclear weapon will soon close.

By Monica Montgomery
Issues: Nuclear Weapons

Background End This New Arms Race

Question & Answer with DeAnne Butterfield

DeAnne Butterfield spent this summer as a Friend in Washington, a program where seasoned Friends share their experience. She is a member of FCNL’s General Committee and the Intermountain Yearly Meeting.

Issues: Nuclear Weapons

Update House and Senate Head for a Showdown on Nuclear Policy

The Trump administration has been taking the U.S. down a dangerous course by seeking new nuclear weapons. Congress can change our country’s direction, but a stark divide has emerged between the two chambers through the fiscal year 2020 appropriations process: While the House rejected several of the administration’s calls for nuclear weapons funding increases, the Senate plans to fully fund—and in some cases exceed—the administration’s requests.

By Monica Montgomery
Issues: Nuclear Weapons

Minute of Concern on Nuclear Weapons

Honolulu Friends Meeting Minute on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, August 2019.

Honolulu Friends Meeting
Issues: Nuclear Weapons

Update Nuclear Weapons: Dangerous, Expensive and Immoral

Written by Deanne Butterfield

On August 6, 1945 the Japanese city of Hiroshima was annihilated in a flash by a single uranium bomb. It razed and burnt 70 percent of all buildings, killed an estimated 140,000 Japanese civilians and Korean laborers, irradiated the soil and plants, and brought increased rates of cancer and chronic disease among the survivors. A slightly larger plutonium bomb exploded over Nagasaki three days later, levelling the city and killing another 74,000.

Issues: Nuclear Weapons

Update U.S. Pulls Out of Nuclear Treaty

The world we seek—one without war and the threat of war—is a little farther off today than it was yesterday. That’s because, effective today, the United States officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

By Chris Kearns-McCoy
Issues: Nuclear Weapons

Legislative Ask Stop New Nuclear Missiles

Reject funding for new “low-yield” and other warfighting nuclear weapons.

Ronald Reagan famously warned that, “A nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought.” In the 35 years since Reagan’s statement, the world has made important but insufficient progress in reducing nuclear dangers. Now, the Trump Administration is arguing, without any credible evidence, that other countries may think they could prevail in a limited nuclear exchange.

Issues: Nuclear Weapons

Background Witnessing Against a Dangerous New Nuke

Question & Answer with Anthony Wier

Nuclear weapons — no matter the size — must never be used. This message is at the heart of FCNL’s work to stop the deployment of the so-called low-yield nuclear warheads on U.S. Navy submarines.

By Anthony Wier
Issues: Nuclear Weapons