Doctors, advocates urge committee to support anti‑nuclear 'Back from the Brink' resolution

House Joint Resolution 7, also titled the Back from the Brink Act for this session, was presented by Michael Marino on behalf of Delegate Nicole Williams. The nonbinding resolution urges federal steps to reduce the risk of nuclear war and invites Maryland to join other states and localities in pressing for policies such as limits on sole presidential launch authority and reductions in hair-trigger postures.

Michael Marino said the state joining the resolution would add Maryland's voice to a national movement and urged the committee to provide a favorable report. Daryl Carrington, representing Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, noted widespread cosponsorship and introduced Dr. Gwen Du Bois, the organization's president, who outlined the public‑health consequences of a nuclear exchange. Du Bois described casualty and infrastructure impacts and stressed the humanitarian imperative: "Hiroshima and Nagasaki were small atom bombs. Today, the bombs are much more powerful... civilization as we know it would end," she said.

Multiple physicians and public-health witnesses reinforced the message. Dr. Terry Fitzgerald emphasized prevention as a public-health priority and urged lawmakers to act, and Dr. Art Millholland and others described historic close calls and the need for policy change. Witnesses asked the committee to support federal negotiations and domestic policy changes to minimize the risk of inadvertent or accidental nuclear escalation.

Ending: The committee closed testimony on HJ 7; supporters urged a favorable report so Maryland could add its voice to national efforts to reduce nuclear-war risk.