Our mission. So many people’s lives have been deeply affected by their experiences of violence, from military and civilian casualties of war to families affected by gun violence, abused women, inmates in America’s jails and prisons, and communities impacted by the testing of nuclear weapons.

What unites those of us on this committee is a shared purpose: to build a world at peace, in which violence is not considered — by nations, communities, or solitary individuals — as a way to solve human problems.

Non-violence is an approach to human affairs that can be taught and practiced in our schools and communities.  It should guide our nation’s foreign policy as well.  We advocate at every level—local, state, and country—that the world move in a peaceful direction.

What we’ve accomplished. In the spring of 2019, we drafted four peace resolutions and presented them for adoption by the California Democratic Party.  The resolutions, which were officially approved by the Party at the Convention and Executive Board meetings this past summer (2019), support the following actions:

1. Peacefully Resolve the Crisis in Venezuela
2. Support Nuclear Arms Control
3. Repeal the AUMF (Military Force Authorization)
4. Audit the Pentagon

The full text of these four resolutions is located here.  We gained support for these resolutions by reaching out to Democratic clubs and Democratic regional organizations up and down the state.  We were amazingly successful in building this nascent peace movement in the Party.  We believe that the four resolutions have been officially transmitted to all members of California’s Congressional delegation.

As well, we on the WDRC Peace Committee have found a partner in Peace Alliance, a nationwide peace advocacy organization whose mission we share:

We shift human understanding toward empathy, compassion, and connection, thus fostering interdependence among citizens and dialogue toward common ground and peaceful solutions to conflict. This is the only approach that will work.

There is currently a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives, HR 1111, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee, to establish a Department of Peacebuilding.  Peace Alliance is enthusiastically advocating for this bill—including through personal visits to legislators in DC—and we in the Wellstone Peace Committee are providing support as well.

Peace Alliance is proposing also the establishment of a “government entity devoted to peacebuilding and violence prevention” here in California.  Indeed much can be done to advance the cause of peace at the state level.  See our Peace Committee page on this prospect here.

To learn more about the Peace Committee, contact Ann Schwartz.