Who We Are

We are Peace Action at Binghamton University. We are just one chapter of the much larger national, grassroots Peace Action organization. Our mission is to work towards a more peaceful world, tackling a wide range of issues such as climate change, war, nuclear weapons, terrorism, and poverty. We at PABU believe that average citizens are the key to change. This blog’s purpose is to inform our readers of issues arising around the world, and what we as citizens can do to make our voices heard and promote peace.

Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on. -Thurgood Marshall

Gun Violence

Gun Violence is a huge issue in America. It is also an extremely controversial one. Many want to place more regulations on the weapons. While others want to avoid regulations, because they see potential restrictions as infringements on their 2nd Amendment rights. There are those that would deny that guns are the issue in topics such as school shootings and the massive rate of gun homicides in our country. The phrase “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” is one that is thrown around very often these days. The first step to fixing the gun problem in America is acknowledging that we have one. On an average day, 96 Americans are killed with guns, 7 of them (on average) are children under the age of 19. There are an average of 13,000 gun homicides a year in the US and for every person killed with a gun, statistically 2 more are injured. This gun homicide rate is higher than 25 times the average of the other high-income countries. This gun violence disproportionately affects women and minorities. In an average month, 50 women are shot to death by intimate partners and young black men are the most common victims of gun violence. Looking at these statistics, it is impossible to ignore the fact that guns play a major role in violence in our country.

This past weekend, I was proud to be one of the members of PABU that attended the March for our Lives here in Binghamton. This is among the types of action that we need to take. Congressmen and women need to hear that citizens are tired of being less important than the money that they are receiving from the NRA. Let your representatives know that this is an issue that you care about, because if enough people take a stand they’ll have to choose between the money they are receiving from the NRA and their Congressional seats.

Yemen

There is an extreme humanitarian crisis taking place in Yemen. The country has been rocked with conflict for years and the citizens of Yemen are the ones paying a heavy, cruel price.

The conflict in Yemen is currently centered around the Houthi rebels, which have taken some parts of the country under their control. Much of the violence is coming from a Saudi-led coalition, which is trying to remove the Houthi rebels from their positions of power. This coalition has committed war crimes, unlawfully attacking homes, hospitals, markets, and mosques. It is currently supported by the US government.

Over 13,000 civilians have lost their lives as a result of the conflict in Yemen. Not only have too many lost their lives in the conflict due to this coalition’s airstrikes. 22.2 million people are in some need of humanitarian aid, whether it be food, water, or medicine. 17.8 million people, which is more than half of the population of the country, do not have enough to eat and 7 million are at risk of famine. 15.7 million lack access to clean water and sanitation. This has led to an unprecedented outbreak of cholera.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is one of the worst in the world, and the coalition causing it is receiving the support of the United States government, our taxpayer money. So what can we do to stop this? There are currently two bills that will soon be voted on in the Senate regarding our support of this inhumane coalition. S.J. Res. 54, or the Sanders-Lee resolution, would stop US involvement in this conflict. This is the one that we, as PABU, are urging people to support. Call your Senators. Email them. Tweet at them. Anything to them hear your support of this bill. Another bill, S.J Res. 55, is also aimed towards Yemen. However, this will not get the job done and not stop the US’ involvement in this crisis. It seems as though it was introduced with the sole purpose of drawing support away from S.J.R 54, so that Congress can feel as though they did something yet not vote for the more “radical” of the two bills. So please, in contacting your senators, let them know that it is S.J.R. 54, not S.J.R. 55, you support.