Please Testify in Support!

Restore Hawaii County’s Historic

Nuclear–Free Law!

Repeal the Military Exemption!

Support Bill 206 draft2 Click on the link Bill 206 to read the Bill. Send an email in support to counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov

     Good News! Bill 206 Draft 2 requires only one more council vote on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at 1 PM in Hilo to move the Bill to the Mayor for his signature to become County law. Please mark your calendar.  Try to attend the Hilo meeting at the Council Chambers.  You can now send testimony by email up until 1 day before the final vote.  People can also testify via Zoom from their homes at the Nov. 8th meeting, or from various county sites around the Island.  Call the County Clerk’s office for more information.  808-961-8255. Mahalo for your support. Jim Albertini for Malu ‘Aina

     Background: Hawaii County’s historic Nuclear-Free Law (No, 665) was passed in February 1981. Hawaii County was the first municipality in the U.S. to pass a law declaring itself a Nuclear-Free Zone. Since then, more than 100 or 200, other municipalities have passed similar laws.

      Forty years ago, on July 18, 1984, hundreds of people gathered peacefully on the Hilo docks to protest a visiting nuclear-armed US Navy warship—the USS Ouellet. After three years of unsuccessfully requesting the US Navy to respect our County’s Nuclear-Free law, our organization announced that we planned a nonviolent, peaceful swimming protest of the next Navy Nuclear ship visit a month later. A Navy Nuclear ship visit was planned for the July Hawaii Japanese Chamber of Commerce Festival of the Pacific.

     On July 17, 1984, the day before the nuclear warship’s scheduled arrival, the Hawaii County Council, under the leadership of then Council chair, Stephen Yamashiro, passed an emergency amendment “exempting the military” from the Nuclear-Free law.  Having an amendment to the Nuclear-Free Law to exempt the military is like having an exemption for smokers from Smoking laws.  It makes no sense. For more on the Hilo Bay Warship Peace Blockade,  see https://malu-aina.org/?p=10305 My testimony on Oct. 1^st can be viewed here. https://malu-aina.org/?p=10529

––Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622

Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts. For more information see https://www.malu-aina.org

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Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

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