Bath Iron Works Warship June 22 Will Be Met With Protests, But D.A. Unlikely To Prosecute Arrests

Jason Rawn (foreground) and others blocking busses arriving for a warship celebration in Bath on April 27, 2019.  (Photo: Peter Robbins)

MEDIA ADVISORY: BATH IRON WORKS WARSHIP LAUNCH WILL BE MET WITH PROTESTS; D.A. UNLIKELY TO PROSECUTE PROTESTERS

Statewide peace and environmental  groups will gather to protest the “christening”[sic] of Arleigh Burke Guided Missile Destroyer Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) at General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard on Saturday, June 22 at 8am.

During the last war ship launch on April 27, 25 protesters were arrested for obstructing a public way blocking a bus headed into the shipyard to join the celebration. District Attorney Natasha Irving declined to prosecute the 25 and is expected to do so if there are similar arrests on June 22. Irving has stated that she considers such cases a drain on the limited resources of her staff.

Currently there are 26 people signed up to engage in civil resistance on  June 22.

Mark Roman of Solon was among those arrested on April 27 out of concern for the Pentagon’s enormous carbon footprint. “The report by Prof. Neta Crawford published this month by Brown University’s Costs of War project counts greenhouse gas emissions since the start of the so-called war on terror in 2001,” said Roman. “The Pentagon is the biggest polluter on the planet, and climate emergency can no longer wait for this to be addressed. We should begin working to convert BIW now!”

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Bruce Gagnon of Brunswick, a member of VFP who became an activist while in the Air Force during the Vietnam era, said, “Our real security needs as a nation are to urgently address climate change and plan for sea level rise that is already underway. How will this affect BIW’s shipyard in Bath? Continuing to build expensive, provocative and polluting weapon systems like Aegis destroyers ignores climate change as the biggest threat to our collective safety.” Gagnon has helped organize protests at BIW for the past several years. In 2018 he fasted for 37 days to oppose a tax giveaway by the state of Maine to General Dynamics.

Governor Janet Mills signed Maine’s Green New Deal into law this week. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chloe Maxmin, provides funding for job training needed to convert industries which currently contribute to climate change and global warming.

“Making warships at BIW is not even a good jobs policy. Researchers have consistently found that investment of the same resources in sustainable energy solutions like commuter rail or wind turbines would produce many more jobs,” said Mary Beth Sullivan of PeaceWorks of greater Brunswick. “We need conversion of the BIW shipyard now.” Sullivan referenced the UMass Amherst study in 2011, “TheU.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities: 2011Update” by Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier.

Organizations sponsoring the June 22 protests and resistance include Americans Who Tell the Truth, Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST), Durham Quaker Meeting, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Island Peace & Justice, Maine Independent Green Party, Maine Natural Guard, Maine Veterans for Peace, Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center, Midcoast Peace & Justice Group, Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Peace & Justice Group of Waldo County, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, and Peninsula Peace & Justice.

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