The San Juan Islands Advocacy Team is a group of concerned citizens from the 2nd Congressional District of Washington working with the Friends Committee on National Legislation to lobby Congress for a sane and nonviolent foreign policy. We are writing to publicly thank Senator Patty Murray for cosponsoring Senate Joint Resolution 10, which repeals the Authorization for the Use of Military Force of 2002 (AUMF). This legislation is similar to a bill passed in the House earlier this year with the support of Representative Rick Larsen. The AUMF permits the president to wage war without the Congressional oversight mandated in the United States Constitution. Repealing the AUMF makes it more likely that U.S. foreign policy will favor diplomacy over violence.

We are grateful to Senator Murray and Representative Larsen for their leadership on this issue. We urge Senator Maria Cantwell to join her colleagues in taking a public stand in support of S.J. Resolution 10 as a major step toward ensuring that current and future administrations will seek negotiated solutions to international conflicts. We urge our island neighbors as well as friends throughout Washington state to contact our Representatives and Senators to let them know that war is not the answer and AUMF repeal is needed now.

The San Juan Islands Advocacy Team

Linda Ellsworth, Orcas

Tom Rawson, Orcas

Iris Graville, Lopez

Jerry Graville, Lopez

Charles Janeway, Lopez