Brothers and Sisters in the Military: "Refuse to Fight! Refuse to Kill!"
You are being ordered to war by a President who was never elected, who has
never fought in a war, and who is saying that it is acceptable to use
nuclear weapons.
You are being ordered to war in the footsteps of veterans, who, more than 10
years ago, were sent to fight the first Gulf War. Many of those vets
returned with severe and unacknowledged illnesses. Many gave birth to
severely deformed children. Many were abandoned by the Veterans
Administration.
You are being ordered to war by the most powerful nation on earth.
You are being ordered to war by a nation with the most destructive weapons
ever conceived, developed, deployed or used.
You are being ordered to war by a nation whose self-acknowledged posture is
that of world domination, mastery, control.
This nation can have no moral justification for war.
We, the undersigned, are convinced that war is the greatest evil on earth.
We believe that humankind must end war, or war will end humankind, and, in
fact, all of creation.
Our convictions have driven us time and again to the Pentagon, White House
and Congress in acts of civil resistance to war.
Now, we bring our plea to you, sisters and brothers, in the armed forces.
Refuse to kill.
Refuse the order to go to war.
Leave the military before it is too late.
We know your resistance to war will be difficult and require great courage.
There are groups established for the express purpose of counseling and
supporting military resisters. To find out about your right to
conscientiously object to war call: GI Rights Hotline, 1-800-394-9544 (or
1-800 fyi 95gi)
As you consider this plea, we ask that you reflect:
Is non-cooperation more difficult than fighting in war?
Is non-cooperation more difficult than being a pawn of corporate greed?
Is non-cooperation more difficult than living with a violated conscience?
Is non-cooperation more difficult than living with the poisons of war in
your body and spirit?
Wrong is easy. Right is difficult and long. Do what your heart says is
right.
We knowingly and willingly make this plea to you in violation of 18 USC Sec.
1381 and 2387.
We knowingly and willingly embrace some of your risk by urging you to refuse
duty in the U.S. military. We plead with you, as Bishop Oscar Romero pleaded
with Salvadoran troops: "When you hear the words of a man telling you to
kill, remember instead the words of God: 'Thou shalt not kill!' No soldier
is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God...In the name of God,
in the name of our tormented people who have suffered so much and whose
laments cry out to heaven, I beseech you, I beg you, I order you in the name
of God, stop the repression!'"
If you choose to leave the military, please know that our hearts and homes
are open to you.
Contact Jonah House (410-233-6238)
or Dorothy Day Catholic Worker (202-882-9649)
(text of footnote which is the text of the codes violated by signers)
18 USC (United States Code) Section 1381. Enticing desertion and
harboring deserters, Whoever entices or procures, or attempts or endeavors
to entice or procure any person in the Armed Forces of the United States, or
who has been recruited for service therein, to desert therefrom, or aids any
such person in deserting or in attempting to desert from such service; or
Whoever harbors, conceals, protects, or assists any such person who may have
deserted from such service, knowing him to have deserted therefrom, or
refuses to give up and deliver such person on the demand of any officer
authorized to receive him - Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned
not more than three years, or both.
Section 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, Naval
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.
Section 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, Naval 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.
SIGNERS
Gary Ashbeck, Jonah House
Sr. Diane Bardell, G.N.S.H.
Steve Barrett
Dr. Rosalie Bertell, G.N.S.H.
Kathy Boylan, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
Bob Bossied, S.C.J.
Fr. Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
Lauren C. Cannon, Voices in the Wilderness
Corienne Carey
Fr. Frank Cordero
Susan Crane, Jonah House
Fr. John Dear, S.J.
Sean Donahue
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, D.C.
Jackie Downing
Edward Dyer
Leonor Esguerra
Every Church a Peace Church
Rev. Frank Fortkamp
Dr. Peter Gathje
Jack Gilroy
Grand Rapids Chapter of Don't Waste Michigan
Fr. John Grathwohl
Bishop Tom Gumbleton
Jean & Joe Gump
John Harris
Hartford Catholic Worker
Martha S. Hayward
House of Grace Catholic Worker
Barbara Huber, S.C.
Lana & Steve Jacobs
Jonah House
Fr. Stephen Kelly, S.J.
Ed Kinane
Stephen Kobasa
Bob & Tess Koenig
Janell E & Gary G. Kohls
Robert Krall
Katherine Krolczyk
Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
Johathan Leavitt
Eric LeCompte
Elizabeth McAlister, Jonah House
Joe Morton
Retta Murphy
Ched Myers
David Naar
Bob Neveln, Assoc. Prof of Computer Science and Math
Ruth O'Neil
Gil Ott
Carol Parker
David Partridge, Co-chair, Clergy Against Nuclear Attack (CANA)
Peter Maurin Center, D.C.
Beth Preheim,
Bill Quigly, Law Professor, Loyola Univ. New Orleans
KimRedigan, Catholic Mother and Teacher
Jerry Reitman
Mary Sprong
St. Francis Catholic Worker, Columbia Missouir
St. Isaac of Nineveh Gift of tEars Catholic Worker
Brian Terrell
Sr. Elizabeth Walters, I.H.M.
Jamie Walters
Dr. Fred Wilcox
Rev. William Wylie Kellerman