The War Resisters League affirms that all war is a crime against humanity.  We are determined not to support any kind of war, international or civil, and to strive nonviolently for the removal of all causes of war, including racism, sexism and all forms of exploitation.

Tear Gas - What You Need To Know

From 2012 to 2014, War Resisters League ran the Facing Tear Gas campaign aimed at exposing the tear gas industry: who's making it, who's buying it, and where it's used. Tear Gas, unsurprisingly, was found to be a common tool for state oppression from the United States to Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, and elsewhere.

Now in 2020, the use of tear gas is back on the forefront of people's minds for its use against Black Lives Matter protestors across the United States. Not only are police using a chemical weapon on protestors, but they are also using it during the context of the COVID-19 pandemic - compounding the danger to people's lives.

While some cities across the United States have implemented a 30-day ban, War Resisters League continues to push for a total ban of tear gas.

For more information on tear gas, including domestic and international testimonials, research behind companies, and a workshop you can use to educate others, visit our website here. We've pulled some key information below:

Militarized Response Tracker #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd

We’re heartbroken and outraged and like so many of you, refuse to allow the systematic killing of Black people in the United States to continue without a fight for justice. There is a lot to be outraged about: from how the politics of COVID-19 pandemic put the lives of Black and indigenous folks at risk, to how calls for release of prisoners still haven’t been met, to the fact that police brutality has taken the lives of Ahmaud Arbury, Dreasjon Reed, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Taylor McDade, and far too many others. 

What We’re Tracking: Militarized Responses to #Justice4GeorgeFloyd

When we talk about police militarization, there is still belief in the notion that if police weren’t militarized, then we wouldn’t have a problem - even within the antimilitarist community. That's not true. We need to push back on this idea and the myth of “a few bad apples in the police force.” The truth is: “regular policing” has always and continues to harass, detain, brutalize, and terrorize Black people. It’s why there are virtually never repercussions for police officers who commit murder. And the militarization of domestic policing isn’t entirely new either - in fact, the history goes back decades.

TAKE ACTION: STOP U.S. ARMS TRADE

Over the last month, under the cover of COVID, a new series of Arms Sales were proposed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the section of the Pentagon responsible for handling major arms sales. According to US law, there is a 30 day period to mount a legislative challenge to these sales before they are put into the pipeline for the arms industry to move forward.

WRL, along with International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and the Malaya Movement, met with Ilhan Omar's office, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the oversight body for this type of sale, who has agreed to mount a challenge.

Back to basics: solidaridad | تضامن | solidariteit | solidarity | એકતા | 연대 | mshikamano

We knew this was going to be a tough and pivotal year politically, but few predicted the extent to which it would be so. Constant updates from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Democratic Primaries to chaos from within the Trump administration are alarming and hyperstimulating. For many young people, this will be the second economic collapse that we’ve lived through in our lives— not to mention the third “conceptual” war (the “war” on the coronavirus follows the War on Drugs and War on Terror).

Our deepest hope for our members is that you are able to take care of yourselves and others right now. Remember to practice asking for help, as well as offering help.