Peninsula Branch Rallies to Support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Palo Alto Rally Group outside the Post Office. Photo credit: Lotus Yee Fong

By Judy Adams and Cherrill Spencer
Peninsula Branch

June 2022

In support of the call from WILPF to re-engage our community on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), on June 7th our branch sponsored a small rally, on short notice, outside our Palo Alto CA main post office. We invited community members, local press, and city council members of three local cities—two of whom we recruited into our group Mayors for Peace, and one into the group Back from the Brink. As it was the last day for Californians to turn in their Primary Election ballots, we had good exposure for our small but energized group, as people came and went by us delivering their mail-in ballots. 
     
Rallying for the TPNW were four branch members: our local “peace dancer” Sharat Lin in his distinctive, signature butterfly wings (representing the global migratory flight of peace actions); representatives of the local Pacific Life Community/Catholic Worker; a member from the local Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice group; a seasoned peace activist and his 93-year-old mother; and a Japanese woman who held our “No More Hiroshima’s/Nagasaki’s” sign.  

As the photos show, we displayed several of our WILPF TPNW petition signs with a large QR Code, along with several signs from our regular Friday noon vigils. We distributed various brochures on our table. Framing our small group were our two WILPF banners, “End the Nuclear Era” and “Peace and Planet Before Profit.”

An intern for a local paper published this article on our rally, with a photo. We also have a short video of three of our members, Lotus Yee Fong, Judy Adams, and Cherrill Spencer reading the text of the following statement, provided for us by WILPF: 

Statement on the Existential Threat of Nuclear Weapons and on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
 
The power to initiate a global apocalypse lies in the hands of the leaders of nine nations.
As 122 nations of the world indicated when they adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in July, 2017, this is unacceptable.
     
As concerns about the threat of nuclear weapons re-enter the public consciousness, it is important to know that humankind is not without an answer to the nuclear threat. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on January 22, 2021, provides a clear pathway to the elimination of the nuclear threat.
 
We call on all nuclear armed states to take immediate steps to:
            • engage the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,
            • attend the First Meeting of States Parties, and
            • sign, ratify and implement the Treaty.

We also call on the US media to recognize the existence of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to include the Treaty in discussions, articles, and editorials regarding the nuclear threat and methods available to address it.             
 
We congratulate other branches who took action on June 7, and we will dedicate our branch to continuing to support the TPNW. 

Photos by Becky Fischbach and Lotus Yee Fong