Community Support Letter for a Back from the Brink resolution in Seattle
- Example letter for Seattle City Council
- Example letter for state representatives
Dear Seattle City Council,
We, the undersigned members of the Seattle community, are writing to ask you to join many municipalities and organizations in endorsing Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a national grassroots campaign that calls for a simple, 5-point set of common sense, practical policy solutions (see below) that would greatly reduce the real and immediate risks posed by nuclear weapons and the chances that they will ever again be used.
Drafted by leaders from two prominent national organizations, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Physicians for Social Responsibility, the purpose of Back from the Brink is to build broad, bipartisan public and congressional support for fundamental changes in U.S nuclear weapons policy.
As the members of the Seattle City Council, endorsing Back from the Brink is a simple way to lend your voice and stature on an issue that affects every one of your constituents and all of humanity.
This is not a partisan issue. This matters to us, our families and our community, regardless of political affiliation. As city councilmembers, you have a solemn duty to do what you can to keep your constituents safe – and nuclear weapons should be no exception. In that regard we hope that you will not only endorse Back from the Brink but also issue a public statement about your endorsement to our local/state media, as well as inform our congressional delegation of your support.
Today, nine nations possess approximately 12,100 nuclear weapons, most of which are far more destructive than those that killed over 100,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The detonation of even a small number of these weapons could have catastrophic global consequences.
According to a 2024-2025 New York Times series titled “At the Brink,” the threat of a nuclear war is growing. Global tensions are on the rise and, in our own country, there are plans to rebuild the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal at the staggering cost of $1.7 trillion over the next three decades. This includes plans to build more “usable” nuclear weapons for nuclear war fighting, increasing the chance that these weapons could be used. U.S taxpayers already spend some $2 million every hour of every day maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Nuclear weapons don’t make us safer, and the enormous sum of money we spend to build and maintain them makes it more difficult to fund critical programs for our cities and towns, such as programs addressing public housing, education, environmental protection, poverty reduction, and more.
Your endorsement of Back from the Brink is a simple step you can take that will send a powerful signal to members of our congressional delegation and other leaders in Washington that it’s time for a fundamental shift away from thinking of nuclear weapons as instruments of security; instead we must start moving toward a world free of them.
We respectfully request that the Seattle City Council pass a resolution calling for the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by:
- actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals;
- renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first;
- ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack;
- taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and
- canceling the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons.
A list of cities that have already passed such a resolution can be found here. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Community Support Letter for Members of our Washington State Congressional Delegation to Cosponsor House Resolution 317 / Senate Resolution 323
Dear members of our Washington State congressional delegation,
We would like to respectfully ask that you consider taking a public stance in support of reducing the growing threat of nuclear war, by cosponsoring House Resolution 317 / Senate Resolution 323 urging the United States to lead the world back from the brink of nuclear war and halt and reverse the nuclear arms race.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, a solemn reminder of the humanitarian catastrophe nuclear weapons can unleash.
With rising global tensions and massive investments in nuclear modernization underway, it is more urgent than ever for our elected leaders to speak with moral clarity against these weapons.
As the members of the Washington State congressional delegation, endorsing this resolution is a simple way to lend your voice and stature on an issue that affects every one of your constituents and all of humanity.
This is not a partisan issue. This matters to us, our families and our community, regardless of political affiliation. As elected leaders, you have a solemn duty to do what you can to keep your constituents safe – and nuclear weapons should be no exception.
Today, nine nations possess approximately 12,100 nuclear weapons, most of which are far more destructive than those that killed over 100,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The detonation of even a small number of these weapons could have catastrophic global consequences.
According to a 2024 New York Times series titled “At the Brink,” the threat of a nuclear war is growing. Global tensions are on the rise and, in our own country, there are plans to rebuild the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal at the staggering cost of $1.7 trillion over the next three decades. This includes plans to build more “usable” nuclear weapons for nuclear warfighting, increasing the chance that these weapons could be used. U.S taxpayers already spend some $2 million every hour of every day maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Nuclear weapons don’t make us safer, and the enormous sum of money we spend to build and maintain them makes it more difficult to fund critical programs for our cities and towns, such as programs addressing unemployment, public housing, education, environmental protection, poverty reduction, rural internet access, combating the opioid epidemic, and more.
On April 9, 2025, Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI) introduced House Resolution 317, a bold resolution that lays out concrete steps to prevent nuclear war. On July 16, 2025, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the Senate companion resolution, Senate Resolution 323.
Together, these resolutions call for:
- Pursuing nuclear disarmament as a national security imperative
- Renouncing first use of nuclear weapons
- Ending sole presidential authority to launch nuclear weapons
- Canceling plans for new and enhanced nuclear weapons systems
- Maintaining the moratorium on nuclear testing
- Supporting a just economic transition for communities affected by nuclear weapons
Representative Jayapal and dozens of other members of Congress have already chosen to cosponsor the resolution.
Again, we respectfully request that you consider cosponsoring House Resolution 317 / Senate Resolution 323.
With your leadership, we can continue building momentum for a more just, peaceful, and livable world.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,