To: The Vermont State House, The Vermont State Senate, and Governor Phil Scott

Stand with Vermont Legislators Calling to Cancel F-35 Basing

Victory! The creator of this petition declared the campaign a success. You can still sign the petition to show support.

Stand with and thank Vermont legislators urging Burlington voters to vote "Yes" on Ballot Question #6 to request that the cancellation of the F-35 and request low-noise-level equipment instead.

Why is this important?

Seven Vermont legislators have signed a letter urging Burlington voters to vote “Yes” on ballot question #6 regarding the F35s. Sign the petition to stand with them, thank them, and ask your representatives to sign on in support of Yes on #6. See the letter below:

We stand together in favor of Burlington’s ballot question #6 to oppose the basing of the F-35s at the Vermont Air National Guard. The issues are as follows:

1. Noise/Housing: The F-35 is over four times louder than the current F-16, which will put over 6,600 people’s home in a high decibel noise zone that the Federal Government classifies as unsuitable for residential use.1

2. Crash rate: The planes are still new and as such have an eight times higher crash rate than the F-16s. Typically the Air Force chooses a remote base for the new military aircraft. With 1,400 homes in the crash zone, we cannot take this risk. The current runway aims directly at the largest shopping area in Vermont with two dozen big box stores one mile away in Williston. This is not an abstract issue. In 1965, a military jet crashed in Williston. Fortunately, the area was an open field at the time so the casualties were limited to the two people on board.2

3. Jobs/Air Guard base closure: The Air Force has repeatedly stated that there were any number of other military aircraft for the VT Air Guard to fly if the F-35 did not come here. They would simply get another flying mission, as they have in the past. They could fly another fighter aircraft, or a military transport, or drones, or perform cybersecurity missions. And the jobs could increase. For example, the C-130 is a possibility and it needs three to five crew members per flight as opposed to one sole pilot for the F-35.3

4. Timeline: We know that it is not too late to take a stand and change the trajectory of this decision. Basing decisions have been reversed because of public outcry, congressional action, or legal action in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and Alaska.4
We urge you to vote yes on ballot question #6 to oppose the local basing of the F-35s. Thank you for joining this growing movement for a safer, quieter, mission.

Read the whole letter here: http://www.pjcvt.org/seven-state-legislators-call-cancel-f-35-basing/