18.02.17 Lenten Vigil for Disarmament at GD/BIW in Bath

The second Lenten Vigil for Disarmament at General Dynamics/Bath Iron Works in Bath was held on February 17, 2018 as Bruce Gagnon began the sixth day of his hunger strike to stop the passage of GD/BIW's $60 million corporate welfare bill before the Maine State Legislature. 15 Maine peace activists gathered in front of the GD/BIW administration building, marched to the middle gate to hand out leaflets at the 12 noon shift change and marched back to the administration building for a circle of remembrance. At the middle gate, a GD/BIW security guard can be seen telling Bruce Gagnon where to stand in protest on a public sidewalk.
The starting date for the Lenten Peace Vigil goes back to a bleak, snowy February 12, 1997 morning, Ash Wednesday, when Phil Berrigan and five other people snipped through a lock with bolt-cutters and entered the Bath Iron Works. The peace advocates carried plastic baby bottles filled with their own blood, collected by a helpful medical professional, and ordinary household hammers with "Love Your Enemies" wood burned into two of the handles.