March 27, 2011
Re: State Democratic Committee Resolution for a U.S. Dept. of Peace (HR 808)
Dear Senator Leno,
At the Multi-Ethnic Movement of Love Against Violence Rally held on a very rainy day last October, you eloquently underscored the importance of reducing neighborhood and family violence and the need to lay a foundation of peace and purpose, on which our communities and each of us living in them can thrive—I recall the overwhelming applause and cheer for your words. Thank you for joining us despite the downpour.
It would be a natural next step for our City as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has already passed a resolution for the Department of Peace, an action that dovetails with California’s emerging position as a “global force” (to quote the senate Office of International Relations) not only in technologies (high-tech, bio-tech, green industries), but also in peacebuilding.
Homegrown groups like H.O.M.E.Y. are effectively combating gang violence in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Beacon Centers and 826 Valencia promote youth development, and hundreds of other organizations like the Peace Alliance are working at a grassroots level to ensure healthier, more peaceful communities. “Beyond the Number of the School to Prison Pipeline,” the event you and Fiona Ma will be presenting in April, comes back to the same thing we’re all working to remedy, the violence corroding our communities.
Californians want a U.S. Department of Peace.
Rogue Diplomacy 
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