December 2, 2020
Dear Friends,
This is our annual appeal for funds for Ground Zero.
We hope this finds you well, in body and in spirit.
Thank you for your financial contributions and for keeping us in your thoughts during these challenging times. Ground Zero is funded mostly by small donations, which in many cases represent significant sacrifices by the donor. We are grateful for our donors and of the many sacrifices made for Ground Zero as we continue our work.
Ground Zero activities in 2020 began with our vigil at the Main Gate entrance to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor on January 18 and with our participation in Seattle on January 20 at the annual march in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On February 28, Ground Zero hosted the annual Pacific Life Community four-day retreat at Pilgrim Firs in Port Orchard. On March 2, thirteen nuclear abolition activists were cited for blocking the entrance to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.Sue Ablao’s case in Kitsap County court is still pending due to the pandemic.
On February 29, the CDC and the State of Washington reported the first known COVID-19 death in the U.S. in Kirkland, WA. Our monthly meetings and events have since been modified accordingly.
On May 9, Ground Zero held our first successful webinar for Mothers’ Day, featuring Lilly Adams, a nuclear weapons outreach consultant for the Union of Concerned Scientists. Five members held a vigil at the Bangor Main Gate later that day while observing appropriate physical distancing.
On July 29, a smaller Peace Fleet with two vessels and five crewmembers sailed in Elliott Bay. The Navy did not show.
The demonstration on August 10th was the culmination of a month of outreach for the 75th remembrance of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. Due to the pandemic, members focused on alternative forms of outreach, including:
** weekly bannering at the NE 45th. St. and I-5 overpass in Seattle
** four billboards for a month in Seattle starting on July 13 that stated: Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor… Base with largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the U.S., Remembering the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Accept Responsibility!
** an online presentation with Ramona Bennett, a longtime and prominent leader from the Puyallup tribe who spoke of the connected threat of nuclear weapons and the environmental crisis at Ground Zero on August 9
** four full-page ads in the Kitsap Sun on August 2, 6, 9, and 10th concerning the 75th remembrance of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and a special appeal to Navy personnel at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor: Refuse illegal orders; Refuse the order to use nuclear weapons.
On the morning of August 10, six demonstrators blocked the roadway at the Main Gate of Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, stopping all traffic for about seven minutes. Washington State Patrol officers escorted demonstrators off the roadway. No citations were issued.
On August 31, a federal District Court Judge lifted the gag order imposed upon Ground Zero in 2012 and ruled that records sealed by the court in the 2012 environmental lawsuit against the Navy’s second Explosives Handling Wharf could finally be made public. On October 23, the Navy was ordered by the court to pay legal fees for First Amendment work by attorneys on the case.
On October 24, Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the historic United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). On January 22, 2021, the U.N. treaty will enter into force as international law. Ground Zero will continue to promote this new treaty.
Ground Zero works to stay an effective and sustainable organization in all our efforts. We are one of the few all-volunteer organizations where members are not compensated for time, travel or other personal expenses. Your contribution will help preserve the Ground Zero house and grounds, to produce and distribute our informative and acclaimed Ground Zero newsletter, and to allow us to continue our work for nuclear disarmament. All donations to Ground Zero will be used for the promotion of peace.
You may also contribute by including Ground Zero as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or by making charitable gifts directly from your IRA account. Taxpayers age 70½ or older are required to make annual distributions from their traditional IRAs, which are then included in their adjusted gross income and subject to taxes. However, donations made directly to 501(c)(3) organizations from traditional IRAs may be made without paying taxes on them. These types of distributions are considered as viable forms of war tax resistance. Please contact us at 360-930-8697 or info@gzcenter.org if you are interested in donating to Ground Zero in this manner or through a bequest.
We would be remiss not to mention the loss of Ground Zero member Bill Wahl. Bill’s Catholic faith led him to Ground Zero, where among other things, he was a tireless videographer of events, a defendant in the last White Train trial, and host for Ground Zero meetings at the Wahl’s home in Seattle for over 30 years.
To all Ground Zero supporters, we promise to remain true to our Mission Statement, which reads:
Founded in 1977, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action offers the opportunity to explore the meaning and practice of nonviolence from a perspective of deep spiritual reflection, providing a means for witnessing to and resisting all nuclear weapons, especially Trident. We seek to go to the root of violence and injustice in our world and experience the transforming power of love through nonviolent direct action.
Peace and love,
Sue Ablao, Mary Gleysteen, Michael (Firefly) Siptroth, Mary Hanson, Elizabeth Murray, Kim Wahl, Alice Zillah, Betsy Collins, Senji Kanaeda, Gilberto Perez, Rodney Brunelle, Barbara Hill, Michael Hill, Bob Trutnau, Mona Lee, Larry Kerschner, Caroline Wildflower, Connie Mears, Kim Loftness, Leonard Eiger, Mack Johnson, Tom Rogers, Bernie Meyer, Karol Milner, Glen Milner
