The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Social Justice and United States Policy presented its Report #15 on Resolution C027 (Endorse "Back from the Brink: A Call to Prevent Nuclear War") and moved adoption of a substitute.

Original Text of Resolution:

(C027)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,

That the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, that the 152nd Convention of the Diocese of Central New York, following Jesus' commandment to love God with our whole heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, endorses the international grassroots initiative “Back from the Brink: the Call to Prevent Nuclear War.” Endorsing “Back from the Brink” supports the adoption of five common-sense steps:

• Renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first;
• End the sole, unchecked authority of any U.S. President to launch a nuclear attack
• Take U.S. nuclear weapons off hair trigger alert;
• Cancel the 1.7 trillion dollar plan to replace the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal with enhanced weapons;
• Pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed nations to eliminate their arsenals as established in the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Grassroots endorsements of these five steps will add pressure for change in U.S. nuclear weapons policy, calling on our national leaders to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to make nuclear disarmament the center of our national security policy, seeking bilateral and multilateral agreements; and be it further

Resolved, That this Convention's endorsement will be communicated by diocesan authorities to our elected N.Y. Representatives, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and the President of the United States; and be it further

?Resolved, That this 152nd Convention of the Diocese of Central NY will submit this resolution to the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

Committee Substitute:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,

That the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church renounces the option of using nuclear weapons first and supports pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed nations to eliminate their arsenals as established in the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; and be it further

Resolved, That the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, following Jesus' commandment to love God with our whole heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, endorses the goals of organizations such as “Back from the Brink: the Call to Prevent Nuclear War” And the “International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons” and call on the Office of Government Relations to continue to work in support of the goal of total nuclear disarmament (1997-D022) and dismantling existing U.S. nuclear weapons (2009-D060).

Motion carried

Substitute resolution adopted

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #107)