SD 1049

This resolution expresses the Massachusetts General Court's position on nuclear weapons disarmament, formally congratulating the 51 countries that have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and endorsing the national "Back from the Brink" platform. The resolution calls on federal leaders to take specific steps to prevent nuclear war, including renouncing first-use of nuclear weapons, ending the President's sole authority to launch nuclear attacks, taking weapons off hair-trigger alert, canceling nuclear arsenal replacement plans, and pursuing agreements to eliminate nuclear weapons. While acknowledging that nuclear weapons policy falls under federal jurisdiction, the resolution establishes it as official policy of the Massachusetts legislature to pursue measures to protect Commonwealth citizens from nuclear threats and contribute to disarmament efforts, following the precedent set by Massachusetts' role in the 1980s Nuclear Freeze movement.