Grassroots Anti-Nuke Groups Sound the Alarm Over Trump Administration’s Production of New Nuclear Weapons

Beyond the Bomb Says Trump is a Nuclear Bomb Threat

Late yesterday, it was reported that the US Department of Energy has started making a new, low-yield nuclear weapon, the W76-2, at its Pantex Plant in the Texas Panhandle.

In reaction to the announcement, Cecili Thompson Williams, Director of Beyond the Bomb, a people-powered campaign working to free our planet from nuclear violence, dismantle the nuclear system, and secure a just future for all, issued the following statement:

“Just a few days ago, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists held the Doomsday Clock at two minutes to midnight, but with reports that the Trump Administration has begun production on a new nuclear weapon that could undermine global security and trigger a new nuclear arms race – the Clock may already be out-of-date.

“These new, “low-yield” nuclear weapons – which could still kill hundreds of thousands of people – undermine global security, triggering a new nuclear arms race and reducing the threshold that world leaders have to deploy these weapons in the battlefield. That is a catastrophic risk to our planet and proof positive that the Trump Administration is itself a nuclear bomb threat.”

“The production of these weapons also hurts low-income communities, and in particular people of color, indigenous people and rural communities who are disproportionately impacted by our nuclear system by living near nuclear storage sites, on land where nuclear weapons were tested, or near mines for nuclear materials. Families live in fear of nuclear cleanup sites and the effects of radiation on their reproductive choices, and the health of their loved ones. And, we all worry about the return of a Cold War-level nuclear weapons buildup spurred by current international tensions.

“The new Democratic-led House of Representatives should take immediate action to stop the construction of these new weapons, curbing nuclear defense spending, demanding diplomatic engagement with nuclear-armed adversaries and adopting policies to limit Presidential launch authority through legislation like Representative Adam Smith’s No First Use bill. In fact, Representative Ted Lieu is preparing to reintroduce the Hold the LYNE (low-yield nuclear explosives) Act. We encourage all Representatives to co-sponsor this critical legislation which would reverse course on the development, production, and deployment of the W76-2. These common-sense policies will help reign in the threat of our broken nuclear system and the unchecked power in the Oval Office – and make these new weapons obsolete before they’re finished,

“The time to act is now: we must stop the nuclear bomb threat that is the Trump Administration before it’s too late.”

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