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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 15 | 15 | | WELCOMING THE GOLDEN RULE SAILBOAT TO RHODE ISLAND IN SUPPORT OF A |
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| 16 | 16 | | NUCLEAR-FREE WORLD |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senator Joshua Miller |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: March 07, 2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, The dangers of nuclear war have been known to the world since August 6, 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | 1945, with the destruction of Hiroshima; and 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | WHEREAS, An interfaith group was established in June of 1957, an ad hoc committee 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | named Non-Violent Action Against Nuclear Weapons (NVA); and 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | Island, 1,000 miles South of Hawaii, to witness in protest, the British use of the Island for nuclear 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | weapons testing, but did not get further than Japan; and 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | WHEREAS, In the United States, there were announcements in September of 1957, that 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | the United states would conduct a series of nuclear weapons testing at Eniwetok, in the Marshall 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | Islands, in April of 1958; and 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, The Quakers led vigils, letter writing, and public protests against the 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | proposed nuclear testing, all of which went unheeded and, in many cases, unacknowledged; and 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, A Quaker, Albert Bigelow, a 30-year veteran of the United States Navy, a 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | sponsor of several Hiroshima Maidens, felt the calling of need for nonviolent action and proposed 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | sailing into the Marshall Islands in April of 1958, to protest and stop the nuclear testing; and 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | WHEREAS, A ketch, built in Costa Rica, which was approximately 30 feet in length, 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | was purchased by Albert Bigelow and outfitted and rigged in short time to sail from the West 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | Coast to Hawaii and then on to the Marshall Islands, seeking to enter the designated testing area 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | by April 1, 1958, and remain there in an effort to bear witness to all men that it is essential for all 19 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | of humanity to witness that the race to extinction be stopped; and 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | WHEREAS, Albert Bigelow and three other Quakers, a crew of four, left San Pedro, 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | California, on February 10, 1958, stopped at Hawaii for provisioning and maintenance, and was 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | then intercepted by the Coast Guard, arrested, charged, tried, and sentenced, with their 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | convictions being overturned on appeal; and 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | WHEREAS, The Golden Rule did not complete its anti-nuclear weapons voyage to the 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | Marshall Islands, but generated immense international support and sympathy and formed an 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | integral part of peace witnessing that eventually led to the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963; and 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | WHEREAS, The Golden Rule was sold in Honolulu and was not heard of in the decades 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | that followed until it was discovered at the bottom of Humboldt Bay in California in 2009; and 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | WHEREAS, The Golden Rule’s imminent destruction as worthless salvage was stopped 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | by a group of Veterans for Peace and Quakers in Humboldt Bay, and slowly restored over six 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | years and relaunched in June of 2015; and 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | WHEREAS, Since 2015, the Golden Rule has sailed to multiple ports providing 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | educational presentations sending the message that there is no room for nuclear weapons in the 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | home of humanity; and 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | WHEREAS, The Young Friends of the New England Yearly Meeting in 1978, reported 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | on the findings of a public opinion poll of non-Quaker communities and their ideas concerning 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | bomb-testing, peace talks and the prospects of East-West co-existence, with their conclusion 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | being that there was a widespread lack of constructive interest in peace that was very disturbing, 20 |
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| 64 | 64 | | and concluded that the Young Friends had to do something about it themselves; and 21 |
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| 65 | 65 | | WHEREAS, The religious roots of the Golden Rule include a belief that each individual, 22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | regardless of color, race, creed, or nationality is sacred, and that nuclear weapons are a grave 23 |
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| 67 | 67 | | threat to all individuals, groups and nations, and this threat of total destruction is a violation of the 24 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ancient concept of the oneness of humanity; and 25 |
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| 69 | 69 | | WHEREAS, The Golden Rule, the first peace vessel, is an icon and a symbol of peace, 26 |
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| 70 | 70 | | that continues to sail as a testament to its message of peace; and 27 |
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| 71 | 71 | | WHEREAS, The Golden Rule is scheduled to visit Narragansett Bay in the month of 28 |
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| 72 | 72 | | June, from June 11 to June 13; now, therefore be it 29 |
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| 73 | 73 | | RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby welcomes the Golden 30 |
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| 74 | 74 | | Rule Sailboat to Rhode Island in support of a nuclear-free world; and be it further 31 |
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| 75 | 75 | | |
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| 76 | 76 | | |
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