Maryland Peace Action will hold a protest on International Day of Peace – SAY NO to JHU Weapons Contracts

BALTIMORE PEACE ACTION, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206., Baltimore, MD 21212

PRESS RELEASE-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 2021

CONTACT: Max Obuszewski 443-761-5899 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net

                        Richard Ochs 443-846-6638 or rjochs at Comcast dot net

Maryland Peace Action will hold a protest on International Day of Peace – SAY NO to JHU Weapons Contracts

WHO:   Peace Action is the nation’s largest grassroots peace network with chapters and affiliates in states across the country. It organizes its network to place pressure on Congress and the administration through write-in campaigns, internet actions, grassroots lobbying and direct action. Maryland Peace Action is part of that network, and Baltimore Peace Action is a chapter of the State organization. 

Baltimore Peace Action holds these beliefs. War is not a suitable response to conflict.  Every person has the right to live without the threat from nuclear weapons. The United States government must change its priorities which favor the elite, and provide sufficient resources to end the extreme income inequality prevalent in our society. Most recently, Maryland Peace Action was part of a coalition to commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

WHAT: Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of nonviolence and cease-fire. In 2021, as we heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are inspired to think creatively and collectively about how to help everyone recover better, how to build resilience, and how to transform our world into one that is more equal, more just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier. The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world.”

Members of Maryland Peace Action have been protesting Johns Hopkins University’s weapons contracts for decades.  And most of the military research takes place at the Applied Physics Laboratory. The APL receives about $1 billion annually in military research contracts, and JHU is the university which receives the most tax dollars in the country for nuclear weapons research. Besides the pandemic, our country is dealing with climate chaos.  Spending tax dollars on weapons of mass destruction instead of using this funding to deal with the major issues confronting this country is unconscionable.  So Maryland Peace Action will gather and Say No to weapons contracts.  The group intends to deliver a letter to President Ron Daniels urging him to renounce weapons contracts on the International Day of Peace.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 from 4:30 to 5:30 PM

WHERE: 33^rd and North Charles Streets in Baltimore, across the street from JHU’s Homewood campus

WHY: These are very dangerous times. Climate chaos is real, and the pandemic is still raging around the world.  Yet the United States is planning to spend over a trillion dollars to maintain and enhance its nuclear weapons arsenal for decades to come.  President Biden has increased both the military budget as well as the funding for the nuclear arsenal. For example, on July 12, 2021, Johns Hopkins University was awarded a $530,000,000 contract for research and development services in support of the nuclear enterprise.  Another contract received was for research and development services for $23 million to support the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent weapon system. These contracts are for services in support of the two intercontinental ballistic missile systems. 

There is no legitimate reason to waste tax dollars on nuclear weapons.  Unfortunately weapons contractors make massive campaign contributions to our legislators, and the result is a military budget beyond comparison to our national security needs. An editorial which appeared in the Johns Hopkins News-Letter on November 21, 2019 concluded with this statement: “If Hopkins turns away from nuclear weapons research, other institutions may follow in our path. Making the world a safer place is the best way to bring the benefits of our discovery to everyone.”  Like that student, we want Johns Hopkins University to be renowned for its humanitarian research, rather than reviled for research which could bring about a nuclear winter and an end to life as we know it.

The impacts of climate chaos emissions and the use of nuclear weapons do not respect borders. Neither issue can be resolved solely at national levels, but require international cooperation and the building of common security.  Climate chaos will cause conflicts which could result in the use of nuclear weapons which would create catastrophic climatic consequences. The human and financial resources currently devoted to nuclear weapons are desperately required to instead be invested in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate chaos. Let us imagine that the administrators of Johns Hopkins University will recognize the foolishness of weapons contracts and get serious about joining the struggle to save Mother Earth.

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