(RNS) — On April 14, the day before Tax Day, hundreds of people from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill in diverse, intergenerational delegations to meet with their members of Congress. Their message was clear: not one penny more for war on Iran. They came to Washington, D.C., for the first annual Friends Changemaker Weekend, organized by the Friends Committee on National Legislation and the FCNL Education Fund. Representing a wide range of faiths, backgrounds and life experiences, they urged lawmakers to choose peace at a critical time for our country and world. In doing so, they reflected both the persistent power of our democracy and growing dissent over the use of our taxpayer dollars by the White House and Congress — especially in matters of war and peace.  Lobbying against runaway military spending is not new to FCNL and Quakers. For more than 80 years, we have worked to shift federal funding away from war and toward people, peace and planet. We have seen important progress — from defunding outdated weapons systems to …