06 Dec WHAT YOU — YES, YOU! — CAN DO ON JANUARY 22, 2021 TO CELEBRATE THE TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS ENTRY INTO FORCE

Dear fellow nuclear abolitionists,

Now that nuclear weapons are outlawed, it’s time to take action!

On January 22, 2021, people around the world will celebrate the day that the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force (EIF Day), which the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) describes so eloquently as “the beginning of the end of nuclear weapons”.

Please join us — the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA), Nukewatch, the Nuclear Resister and the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) — to help maximize the global impact of this historic event with a wide variety of public actions across the U.S. on that day and beyond. (see list in progress below)

We envision coordinated, nationwide public actions that spotlight the TPNW as a victory for humanity on this historic day, with coordinated publicity and documentation of these events. Places to act (including some where action planning is already underway) include: nuclear weapons facilities, military bases, federal buildings, congressional offices, churches, public squares, overpasses, and financial institutions, corporate facilities and academic institutions that are participating in nuclear weapons activities (using materials prepared by PAX/The Netherlands and ICAN).

You can add your actions and activities to the ICAN events calendar and map here, and also check to see if there’s something happening in your area: https://www.icanw.org/events.

We hope to develop an enduring collaboration with organizations who recognize the TPNW is an opportunity to renew the disarmament effort in the U.S. Please join us! If you have any questions, contact nuclearbantreatyEiF@gmx.com.

For a nuclear-free future,
ANA, OREPA, Nukewatch, the Nuclear Resister

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WHAT YOU — YES, YOU! — CAN DO ON JANUARY 22, 2021

TO CELEBRATE THE TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

ENTRY INTO FORCE

Yes, celebrate—but be smart about it. Any celebration should include an action item that raises the profile of the Treaty in the US. The first goal is to make people aware of the Treaty. Goal #2 is to make sure they know that it is entering into force. And Goal #3 is to begin to use public awareness to pressure the government to recognize, sign, ratify and comply with the Treaty. If that sounds like a lot it is, and it will take time. But it will never happen if we don’t make it happen.

Here are some options. Some you can do all by yourself, others work better with a small group (please take pandemic precautions!). Pick one or more of your favorites.

And please, report back! This is crucial—even if your action is a simple one. We gain strength from working together and knowing that people all over are taking action. And your effort, large or small, is amplified when it is shared. We hope to build a database of actions and we hope to demonstrate widespread support for the Treaty across the country. You can post your actions on facebook at the Nuclear Ban Treaty EIF group; we will publicize other sites as they become available.

1. Everyone can learn about the Treaty, and you don’t have to wait until Jan 22. A quick google search will turn up resources. Some as brief as 90 seconds; others are deep-dive webinars. There is a Fact Sheet here with basic information.

2. Hang or hold a banner in a public space. Activists will be hanging banners at nuclear weapons sites and nuclear military bases across the country. We have a template that you can use to have a banner made (around $50 if you go on-line) that you can hang or hold at any federal building—your local post office, federal courthouse, congressperson’s office. You download the template here.

2b. Think a banner is a bit much? Here is a template for a poster size version of the Treaty that you can hold or deliver or post in the place of your choice.

3. Focus on the $$$. Our friends in Europe have been successful in pushing investment funds and corporations to divest from nuclear weapons funding—the Treaty gives us even more leverage. You can find a list of the companies and banks that invest in nuclear weapons at Don’t Bank on the Bomb. You can hold a poster outside the local Bank of America or Wells Fargo branch office. If your credit card is issued by a nuke-bank, you can change cards or write to the issuer and ask them to get out of the illegal nuclear weapons business.

4. Check out your local university or college. There is a list here of US educational institutions that are directly involved in supporting nuclear weapons production. Some of them even operate nuclear weapons sites! Your local school not on the list? With a little digging, you might find out where their endowment funds are invested—chances are there is a link to a nuclear weapons corporation or fund.

5. Write your congresspersons—Senators and Reps. Tell them you expect their name to be on the first bill introduced in the new Congress that addresses the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Tell them you’ll be watching. It is highly likely that Senator Ed Markey and Congressman Ted Lieu will introduce bills that include a call for the US to join the Treaty.

6. Write a letter to the editor. This is really important—it is a way to broaden your reach through the public media. Mention your congressional representatives by name so their staff will clip the letter and show it to their boss.

7. Share the news on social media—if you use instagram or facebook or if you tweet—you can share the ICAN pages and other news about the Entry Into Force.

8. Donate! You can write a check or give on-line. There are dozens of groups around the country that are dedicating themselves to long-haul work to make the promise of the Treaty a reality around the world and in the US. They rely on donations and public support to keep going. Even a small contribution counts.

9. Commit for the long haul. Find the group nearest and dearest to your heart and join so you can stay involved, track the progress of the Treaty, and learn about more things you can do to help make it a reality. Get on their mailing list, either on-line or on paper.

10. Ask your local place of worship to ring its bell for peace on January 22.

11. Ask your local government to join the ICAN Cities appeal—present a copy of the Treaty and ask for a resolution calling on the US to join the Treaty.

12. Deliver copies of the treaty in person or send via mail (link to printable format) to congressional representatives and other public officials, and business, financial and educational institutions with ties to nuclear weapons activities, with a warning of their complicity.

13. Watch for more ideas: You are encouraged to post your plans on the Nuclear Ban Treaty EIF facebook group, and to look at what others are planning to do.

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Prepared by The Nuclear Resister, Nukewatch, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, and the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. For more info: nuclearbantreatyEiF@gmx.com

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TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS –
ENTRY INTO FORCE (EIF) ACTION SITES

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
Nevada National Security Site (nuclear test site), Mercury, NV
Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM
Sandia National Laboratory, Livermore, CA
Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC
Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, KS
Pantex Plant, Amarillo, TX
Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN
Hanford Site, WA
Rocky Flats Plant, CO
Naval Base Kings Bay, St. Marys, GA
Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, WA
Hill AFB, Ogden, UT
nuclear missile silos
Whiteman AFB, Knob Noster, MO
Barksdale AFB, Shreveport , LA
Minot AFB, Ward County, ND
Offutt AFB, Omaha, NE
Malstrom AFB, Great Falls, MT
F. E. Warren AFB, WY/CO
Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc, CA
Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV
Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM
Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, VA
General Dynamic Electric Boat, Quonset Point, RI
General Dynamic Electric Boat, Groton, CT
Lockheed Martin, King of Prussia, PA
Lockheed Martin, Sunnyvale, CA
Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Tucson, AZ
Raytheon Headquarters, Andover, MA
Pentagon, Washington, DC
White House, Washington, DC
Applied Physics Lab–Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

WHERE U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE BASED
Aviano and Ghedi-Torre air bases, Italy
Büchel AFB, Germany
Incirlik AFB, Turkey
Kleine Brogel AFB, Belgium
Volkel AFB, The Netherlands

Find information about U.S. universities with nuclear weapons ties here.

Find information about financial institutions with nuclear weapons ties here.