Church Declares Its Headquarters Nuclear Free Zone

BOSTON — The Unitarian Universalist Assn. declared its Beacon Hill headquarters a “nuclear free zone” today in a symbolic act that spokesmen said could have “impressive moral and political consequences.”

Church leaders hung a large blue-and-white banner reading “Nuclear Free Zone” from their continental headquarters and said it will fly “as a continuing public witness to peace efforts everywhere.”

Under a resolution passed by the church’s board of trustees, all who use Universalist property are encouraged to “denounce the use or threatened use of nuclear weapons by individuals, groups or nation states.”

More than 100 cities and counties in the United States--with a total population of nearly 11 million--have already been declared nuclear free zones, church spokesmen said.