About 70 people held hands, sang and read poems in a "Mother's Peace Day" vigil at Hercules Aerospace protesting the continued construction of components of the Trident II missile system.
The number of participants was less than the several hundred expected, but organizers were pleased with the turnout.Choosing Sunday for the vigil was intentional. Participants spoke of Julie Ward Howe, founder of Mother's Day, who originated Mother's Peace Day as a protest of women's sons being sent off to war in 1870.
The group shared poems dedicated to the common woman and broke bread together during the protest, sponsored by Women Concerned About Nuclear War, Utah Peace Test and the Agape Community.
Heather Hershey, a student at the University of Utah, said the event provided an opportunity to look at the reality of how women are living.
A group of protesters was arrested last October at the same site. However, they have returned several times since because the protests "haven't stopped them cranking out the Trident missile," said Matthew David Haun, one of those arrested.
Since the arrests, peace groups have received permission to protest at Hercules, and those charged were acquitted.
Haun said he would not encourage others to become involved in civil disobedience, but he added that people should be aware of nuclear weapons' destructive capabilities.