(pre-3)

The Friends Committee on Legislation ("FCL") affirms the Quaker peace testimony and supports peace initiatives before the state legislature.

We seek communities based on understanding and cooperation. The emphasis on military spending has reduced the public funds available for social programs at the state and federal levels. The neglect of such programs has created an array of social problems. In a society that does not allocate adequate resources to address these problems, there can be no true and lasting peace.

Accordingly, FCL supports efforts to bring labor, private capital, and public resources together to plan and carry out programs that truly shift the state's economy to one based upon meeting human and social needs. We recognize that any changes in priorities for the allocation of funds may create hardships on those directly and indirectly involved in the affected activities. Since changes are essential, we support efforts to aid the people adversely affected.

The FCL believes that education plays a pivotal role in shaping society. We therefore support legislation and programs that promote the teaching of peace at all levels of public
education, including peace studies, conflict resolution, alternatives to violence, and diversity awareness. For example, grade school students should be informed about the work of peace
pioneers. They should be taught creative responses to conflict and how to give praise, mend hurts, avoid put-downs, and find wise adults. Middle school students need to study the relationship of peace within the individual, in the community, and in the world. High school and college students should digest a full range of peace-related strategies including advanced mediation practices; balance between individual freedoms and public order; how and why nations go to war; and nonviolent national defense and the role of civil disobedience.

We believe that civilian local and state public agencies should not provide information or assistance to the military for draft registration or recruitment purposes. The military's presence in public schools is contrary to our goal of building a peaceful society. We are opposed to programs such as JROTC and ROTC which extol the military as a way of life. The military should be prohibited from using public educational institutions for testing, recruiting, training, or promoting draft registration. However, to the extent that the military has access to public schools, we support legislation which would require that vocational and career information be made available to students as alternatives to the military. Furthermore, public educational institutions should not take punitive action against nonregistrants for the draft, nonviolent demonstrators for peace, and others who engage in similar acts of conscience.

The FCL believes that public universities should not'be involved in military research. In this regard, the University of California should terminate its affiliation with the Los Alamos and Lawrence- Livermore Laboratories.

Amended and approved by FCL Southern Policy Committee 6/19/97.
Amended and approved by FCL Northern Policy Committee 9/20/97.
Amended and approved by FCL Southern Policy Committee 11/20/97.
Approved by FCL Northern Policy Committee 1/31/98.
Approved by FCL Southern Regional Committee 2/19/98.
Approved by FCL Northern Regional Committee 5/9/98.