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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 3
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CF SJ 2
By: Delegates Williams, Acevero, Fair, Fennell, Ivey, Kaufman, Martinez,
McCaskill, Palakovich Carr, Phillips, Ruff, Ruth, Smith, Taveras, Taylor,
Turner, Vogel, Wilkins, and Young
Introduced and read first time: January 31, 2024
Assigned to: Rules and Executive Nominations
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
A House Joint Resolution concerning 1
Use of Nuclear Weapons 2
FOR the purpose of stating that the General Assembly joins certain other state legislative 3
bodies, counties, and municipalities in passing a Back from the Brink resolution on 4
reducing the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons; urging members of the State’s 5
Congressional Delegation who have not yet done so to cosponsor a certain federal 6
resolution related to the use of nuclear weapons; and urging the U.S. President and 7
the U.S. Senate to endorse the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 8
WHEREAS, Nuclear weapons are the most destructive weapons ever created by 9
mankind; and 10
WHEREAS, 90% of nuclear weapons are controlled by the U.S. and Russia, with the 11
rest being controlled by seven other countries: China, France, Israel, India, North Korea, 12
Pakistan, and the United Kingdom; and 13
WHEREAS, The use of even a small fraction of nuclear weapons, such as 100 14
Hiroshima–sized bombs, which are small bombs by modern standards, could put at least 15
5.5 million tons of soot into the atmosphere and cause climate disruption across the planet, 16
cutting food production and putting 250 million people at risk of starvation; and 17
WHEREAS, A large–scale nuclear war would kill hundreds of millions of people 18
directly, risk starvation for 5 billion people worldwide including in the U.S., and cause 19
unimaginable environmental damage and catastrophic climate disruption by dropping 20
temperatures across the planet to levels not seen since the Ice Age, causing the vast 21
majority of the human race to starve and possibly cause humans to become extinct as a 22
species; and 23
2 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 3
WHEREAS, The U.S. and Russia rely on the assurances of deterrence, that nuclear 1
arsenals are never used, and yet there have been many close calls due to human or 2
mechanical error; and 3
WHEREAS, The U.S. President has the authority to unilaterally initiate the use of 4
nuclear weapons, and during times of crisis, individuals lower in the chain of command 5
might mistakenly do so; and 6
WHEREAS, The U.S. maintains nuclear missiles on hair–trigger alert, making them 7
capable of being launched within minutes and greatly increasing the risk of unintended or 8
unauthorized launch especially in current times when tensions are mounting between 9
nuclear powers and the U.S. maintains the right to initiate a nuclear launch; and 10
WHEREAS, The on–going expenditure of $1.7 trillion over 30 years to enhance the 11
U.S. nuclear arsenal is fueling a global arms race; and 12
WHEREAS, Despite the incredible expenditure on nuclear weapons, one in six 13
military families are food insecure; and 14
WHEREAS, Marylanders paid an estimated $2 billion in taxes in fiscal year 2023 for 15
the nuclear weapons complex; and 16
WHEREAS, Living in the shadow of Washington, D.C., Marylanders are especially 17
at risk if there is nuclear war, making it appropriate that the General Assembly of 18
Maryland urge the federal government to do everything possible to reduce the risk of 19
nuclear war starting by error or by intent; and 20
WHEREAS, Two major conflicts in 2023 involving nations that possess nuclear 21
weapons make multilateral negotiations between nuclear nations more important now than 22
ever; and 23
WHEREAS, In July 2017, the United Nations adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition 24
of Nuclear Weapons which makes it illegal for ratifying nations to develop, test, produce, 25
manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile, transfer, use, or threaten the use 26
of nuclear weapons; and 27
WHEREAS, As of August 6, 2023, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 28
has been ratified by 69 nations; and 29
WHEREAS, House Resolution 77 introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives 30
embraces the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as 31
well as the five policies of Back from the Brink to: (1) actively pursue a multilateral 32
verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals; (2) 33
renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first; (3) end the President’s sole authority 34
to launch a nuclear attack; (4) take nuclear weapons off hair–trigger alert; and (5) cancel 35
current plans to replace or modernize its nuclear arsenal; now, therefore, be it 36
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 3 3
RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, That the General 1
Assembly of Maryland joins the seven state legislative bodies, including the Senates of 2
Rhode Island, Maine, Oregon, California, and over 75 municipalities and counties, 3
including Baltimore County, Frederick County, Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, 4
and Prince George’s County, in passing a Back from the Brink resolution; and be it further 5
RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of Maryland urges members of the 6
Maryland Congressional Delegation who have not yet done so to cosponsor House 7
Resolution 77, which embraces the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of 8
Nuclear Weapons and the Back from the Brink resolution; and be it further 9
RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of Maryland urges the U.S. President and 10
the U.S. Senate to endorse the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; and be it 11
further 12
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by the Department of 13
Legislative Services to the Honorable Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland; the Honorable 14
William C. Ferguson, IV, President of the Senate of Maryland; the Honorable Adrienne A. 15
Jones, Speaker of the House of Delegates; and the Maryland Congressional Delegation; and 16
be it further 17
RESOLVED, That certified copies of this Joint Resolution be sent by the Secretary 18
of State to: the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States of America, 1600 19
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20500; the Honorable Kamala Harris, Vice 20
President of the United States, President of the United States Senate, Suite S–212, United 21
States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; the Honorable Patricia Murray, 22
President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, 154 Russell Senate Office Building, 23
Washington, D.C. 20510; the Honorable Chuck Schumer, United States Senate Majority 24
Leader, 322 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; the Honorable Addison 25
Mitchell McConnell III, United States Senate Minority Leader, 317 Russell Senate Office 26
Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; the Honorable James Michael Johnson, Speaker of the 27
United States House of Representatives, Suite H–232, United States Capitol Building, 28
Washington, D.C. 20510; and the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, United States House of 29
Representatives Minority Leader, 2433 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 30
20515. 31