Brothers and Sisters in the Navy: “Refuse to engage in nuclear annihilation!”
Peace activists in the Puget Sound region have worked to stop the threat of nuclear weapons since the 1970s. We have learned that we share a common concern with members of the armed forces—that the use of nuclear weapons would lead to unimaginable destruction to innocent populations and to our planet.
While the danger of nuclear war is as great as ever, little is being done to curb this threat. One person in our country, our President acting as Commander in Chief, may alone order the launch of nuclear weapons. No single person should have the power to end life on the planet.
We, the undersigned, are convinced that nuclear weapons are the greatest evil on Earth. We believe that humankind created these weapons, and that only humankind can prevent their use.
We bring our plea to you, sisters and brothers, in the armed forces:
Resist illegal orders.
Refuse to kill innocent civilians.
Refuse the order to use nuclear weapons.
We know your resistance will be difficult and require great courage. But please reflect on what it means to violate your conscience and to destroy all hope for future generations.
International decisions have ruled that the use of nuclear weapons is illegal, including decisions at the International Court of Justice in 1996; the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the 1949 Geneva Convention; and the 1977 Geneva Convention protocol. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will enter into legal force on January 22, 2021.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) makes it clear that military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who might issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ.
Knowing that submarines from Bangor are ready to immediately launch as many as 270 nuclear warheads, an order to launch nuclear weapons would signify the final failure of nuclear deterrence and bring about unprecedented destruction. Do not obey an illegal order. Instead, choose to protect all of creation.
Contact Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, at 360-930-8697, or info@gzcenter.org for more information.
We make this plea to you knowing that federal agencies may see this appeal as a violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2387 and possibly other federal statutes. If you choose to oppose nuclear war please know that our hearts and homes are open to you. We will do what we can to support your decision.
SIGNATURES
Sue Ablao, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Robert C. Aldridge, Santa Clara, CA, World War II combat veteran
David P. Barash, Professor of Psychology Emeritus University of Washington
Marilyn Liden Bode, Kingston, WA
Rodney Brunelle, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Dick Burkhart
Dr. Helen Caldicott, Founding President Physicians for Social Responsibility – 1985 Nobel Peace Prize
Felice Cohen-Joppa, Co-coordinator, The Nuclear Resister
Jack Cohen-Joppa, Co-coordinator, The Nuclear Resister
Betsy Collins, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Susan Crane, Redwood City, CA, Redwood City Catholic Worker
Rev. John Dear
Jim Douglass, Mary’s House Catholic Worker, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action co-founder
Shelley Douglass, Mary’s House Catholic Worker, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action co-founder
Deacon Denny Duffell, Coordinator for Pax Christi Pacific Northwest
Joanne Dufour
Leonard Eiger, Friday Harbor, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Bruce K. Gagnon, Brunswick, ME, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Sr. Carol Gilbert, O.P.
Dan Gilman, Veterans for Peace
Mary Gleysteen, Kingston, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Sr. Iva Gregory, O.P., Pax Christi
Mary Hanson, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Lorraine Hartmann, Pax Christi
David Hartsough, San Francisco, CA, Executive Director, Peaceworkers
Barbara Hill, Elbe, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Michael Hill, Elbe, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Helen Jaccard, Veterans for Peace Golden Rule Project
Mack Johnson, Silverdale, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Kathy Kelly, Co-coordinator, Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Larry Kerschner
Mona Lee, Seattle, WA, Earthcare Not Warfare
Steve Leigh
Judith Eve Lipton
Ray McGovern
Bernie Meyer, Olympia, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Glen Milner, Seattle, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Elizabeth Murray, Poulsbo, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Carl Nakajima
Rev. Gilberto Zamora Perez, Bainbridge Island, WA
Sr. Ardeth Platte, O.P.
Larry Purcell, Redwood City, CA, Redwood City Catholic Worker
William Quigley, Professor of Law, Loyola University New Orleans
John M. Repp, Seattle, WA, West Seattle Neighbors for Peace and Justice
Mason Rhoads, Veterans for Peace
Sr. Megan Rice, SHCJ, Transform Now Plowshares
Elizabeth Roberts, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Tom Rogers, CAPT, USN (Retired), Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Randy Rowland
Coleen Rowley, retired FBI Agent and former Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel
Sallie Shawl
Michael “Firefly” Siptroth, Belfair, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
David Swanson, Charlottesville, VA, RootsAction.org
Ellen Thomas, Proposition One Campaign for a Nuclear-Free Future
Lou Truskoff
Kathleen Wahl, Seattle, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Brian E. Watson, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Caroline K. Wildflower, Port Townsend, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action co-founder
Alice Zillah, Olympia, WA, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
******************
18 U.S. Code § 2387 – Activities affecting armed forces generally
(a) Whoever, with intent to interfere with, impair, or influence the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military or naval forces of the United States:
(1) advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military or naval forces of the United States; or
(2) distributes or attempts to distribute any written or printed matter which advises, counsels, or urges insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military or naval forces of the United States—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term “military or naval forces of the United States” includes the Army of the United States, the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Coast Guard Reserve of the United States; and, when any merchant vessel is commissioned in the Navy or is in the service of the Army or the Navy, includes the master, officers, and crew of such vessel.
June 18, 2019
(updated December 21, 2020)
