Over the past few months the Democratic Party in 12 states have adopted the Department of Peace onto their party platforms! They include

• Wisconsin,
• Texas,
• Hawaii,
• Alaska,
• Michigan,
• Iowa,
• Colorado,
• Washington,
• Ohio,
• Oregon,
• Maine and
• Minnesota.

This is wonderful news! Support is building around the country. Thanks to all who worked hard to help make this happen. Now, let's get all states and all parties on board.

Alaska Resolution; passed May 22nd

Whereas, military conflicts in the 20th century alone have killed millions of people, most of them innocent civilians, women, and children and

Whereas, nonviolent methods of resistance have been successful in resolving conflicts where violence has not succeeded, and the methods increase our focus on peace and

Whereas, there is no single government entity assigned to report to the American people on the status of our efforts to achieve peace and

Whereas, the existence of cabinet-level positions focuses the energies of the country and

Whereas, implementing nonviolent approaches for domestic programs and foreign mediation requires broad education, understanding, research and concerted efforts, and

Whereas, H. R. 1673, a bill which has 49 cosponsors and which would establish the Department of Peace, has been introduced into the U.S. Congress and

Whereas, a Department of Peace would provide a structure to shift the paradigm in our country toward peace, a shift which is needed now more than ever, to reflect the human spirit, of trust, respect, and integrity and

Whereas, a decrease in conflict and violence will both save federal money and strengthen the fabric of our country

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Alaska Democratic Party that a Cabinet-level Department of Peace be established at both the State and Federal levels.

Establish a US cabinet-level department of peace to promote non-violence as an organizing principle in both domestic and international affairs.*

* This plank was passed by 62% of the Minnesota Convention attendees. (As a write-in and without any public discussion) The Minnesota DFL only includes the 100 resolutions that pass with the highest percentage in its "official platform" however. DoP was 130th.

Hawai'i Resolution
passed May 30th

Whereas, conflict occurs in relationships occasionally, between individuals, neighbors, and nations; and military conflicts in the twentieth century alone have killed millions of people, most of them innocent civilian women and children; and

Whereas, the United States spends more than the next twenty nations combined on military preparations; and that it has conducted a unilateral, preemptive war against Iraq without the approval of the U.N. and many of our allies; and

Whereas, non-violent methods of resistance have been successful in conflicts where violence did not succeed, ranging from India's struggle for independence, to breaking down the walls of the Cold War, to the great strides made towards integration in the United States; and implementing nonviolent approaches for domestic programs and foreign mediation requires broad education, understanding, research, and a concerted effort; and

Whereas, there is no single government entity assigned to deal with these various issues and report to the American people the status of our efforts to achieve these goals; and

Whereas, H. R. 1673 has been introduced into the United States Congress, to establish a Department of Peace, a bill which has 49 cosponsors; and

Whereas, promoting a culture of peace and nonviolence has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through passage of a resolution declaring an International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children 2001-2010; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i supports a Cabinet level Department of Peace & Nonviolence be established to study and advance peace and nonviolence as the organizing principles in all human relations from families and neighborhoods, to courts and congresses, both nationwide and internationally; and

Be It Further Resolved, that we strengthen security in our country and the world community by:

1. Rejecting a foreign policy of preemptive, unilateral war;

2. Working with the world community through the United Nations; and

3. Supporting international agreements such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions, the Small Arms Treaty, the International Criminal Court, the Land Mines Treaty, and the Kyoto Climate Treaty; and

Be It Further Resolved, that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Hawai'i 's Congressional Delegation and the President of the United States.

Texas Resolution
passed June 18th (identical language to our petition)

Whereas the United States has conducted a unilateral, preemptive war against Iraq without the approval of the U.N. and many of our allies; and

Whereas conflict occurs in relationships occasionally, between individuals, neighbors, and nations; and

Whereas military conflicts in the twentieth century alone have killed millions of people, most of them innocent civilian women and children; and

Whereas the United States spends more than the next twenty nations combined on military preparations; and

Whereas nonviolent methods of resistance have been successful in conflicts where violence did not succeed, ranging from India's struggle for independence, to breaking down the walls of the Cold War, to the great strides made towards integration in the United States; and

Whereas implementing nonviolent approaches for domestic programs and foreign mediation requires broad education, understanding, research, and a concerted effort; and

Whereas there is no single government entity assigned to deal with these various issues and report to the American people the status of our efforts to achieve these goals; and

Whereas H. R. 1673 has been introduced into the United States Congress, to establish a Department of Peace, a bill which has 49 cosponsors; and

Whereas even at the dawn of the 21st century, violence is an overarching theme in the world, encompassing personal, group, national, and international conflict, extending to the production of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction which have been developed for use on land, in the air, under the sea, and in outer space; and

Whereas such conflict is often taken as a reflection of an inevitable human condition, without questioning whether war is really inevitable, whether the structures of thought, word, and deed which we have inherited are any longer sufficient for the sustainability, growth, and survival of the United States and the world, and indeed, whether we can strive to make peace inevitable; and

Whereas promoting a culture of peace and nonviolence has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through passage of a resolution declaring an International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children 2001-2010; and

Whereas we are now in a new millennium, and the time has come to review age-old challenges, to search for new thinking, wherein we can conceive of peace as, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal," where peace is not simply the absence of violence, but the presence of justice, where peace and nonviolence reflect the active presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of the human spirit, of trust, respect, and integrity;

NOW BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that we strengthen security in our country and the world community by:

• Rejecting a foreign policy of preemptive, unilateral war
• Working with the world community through the United Nations
• Supporting international agreements such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions, the Small Arms Treaty, the International Criminal Court, the Land Mines Treaty, and the Kyoto Climate Treaty

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Cabinet Level Department of Peace and Nonviolence be established to study and advance peace and nonviolence as the organizing principles in all human relations from families and neighborhoods, to courts and congresses, both nationwide and internationally.

Colorado Platform
passed May 22nd

[We believe it is imperative that the United States restore its reputation in the international community. To this end, we:] Support for a Department of Peace, which focuses energy and resources towards working with communities on a global level to establish peace and unity in our lives.

Washington Platform; passed June 6th

[We support and affirm:] Creating a cabinet-level Department of Peace to establish non-violence as an organizing principle in both domestic and international affairs, strengthen international institutions and cooperative diplomacy to prevent acts of terrorism and resolve international conflicts.

Oregon Platform (Legislative action section)
passed June 12th

BE IT RESOLVED that a Cabinet Level Department of Peace and Nonviolence be established to study and advance peace and nonviolence as the organizing principles in all human relations from families and neighborhoods, to courts and congresses, both nationwide and internationally.

Iowa Platform; passed June 26th

We support the creation of THE DEPARTMENT OF PEACE.

Wisconsin Resolution; passed June 11th

A Department of Peace should be established to support national policies for a safe and peaceful world.

Michigan Resolution; passed August 28th

Whereas, maintaining peace in the world is of vital national interest; and

Whereas, in an age of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction, war is no longer a viable option for peacemaking; and

Whereas, we must further strengthen the global movement for a culture of peace wherein we can conceive of peace as not simply being the absence of violence, but the active presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of the human awareness, of respect, trust and integrity, and wherein we all may tap the infinite capabilities of humanity; and

Whereas, we must reject the current administration's policies of fear, suspicion and preemptive war.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party supports the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Peace in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government that is dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international peace.

The mission of this department will be to:

• hold peace as an organizing principle, coordinating service to every level of American society
• endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights
• strengthen nonmilitary means of peacemaking
• promote the development of human potential
• work to create peace, prevent violence, divert from armed conflict, use field-tested programs and develop new structures in nonviolent dispute resolution
• take a proactive, strategic approach in the development of policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict and structured mediation of conflict
• address matters both domestic and international in scope
• encourage the development of initiatives from local communities, religious groups and nongovernmental organizations.