The Peace Alliance in Marin Task Force
Showing that United States Peace Building is Radical yet Economical.
The Peace Alliance in Marin is honored to be a task force of the Social Justice Center of Marin. We are also known as the Northern California Campaign for a Department of Peace. We are part of a national group, The Peace Alliance, that is committed to passing legislation for a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding that would advocate and build a culture of peace in the United States through the research, development and promotion of evidence based programs that teach non-violence and conflict resolution.
HR 808, the federal legislation to establish this visionary proposal, also provides that 85% of the funding would be spent domestically. This bill succeeds bills for a Department of Peace introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich in previous Congresses. Presently, Rep. Barbara Lee (Oakland) has introduced this legislation in the 113th Congress. We also support related bills focused on similar strategies. One of these bills is the Youth PROMISE Act, HR 1318. PROMISE is an acronym which stands for Prison Reduction through Opportunity, Mentoring, Intervention, Support and Education.
Predictibly, many in power favour reactionary solutions such as war and incarceration. While profitable to these interest groups, the huge cost of these solutions must be borne by the taxpayer. Research has shown again and again that non-violent, community building strategies are not only cheaper in dollars, but are associated with a dramatic drop in repeat offenders.
For legislation to become a reality, it must have co-sponsors to show the House and Senate leadership that there is support for the bill. Our first job is to encourage our Representatives to sign on. While Lynn Woolsey made it a point to be the first signature in each Congress, her successor, Jared Huffman, has declined to co-sponsor thus far. We have to change his mind right away and we ask that the activist readers email him or call his office in San Rafael, CA (415) 258-9657, or Washington, DC (202) 225-5161, right away.
We have had some very important successes including a resolution by our Marin County Supervisors in 2012. In 2013, the California Democratic Party and the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) endorsed the bill. Their End Wars and Occupation issue group has also added HR 808 to their short list of supported bills.
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help support the Peace Alliance Task Force, please email Lorrie Norby at [email protected] or call (415) 381-2157.
