Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (Ret.), chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, and Dr. Ira Helfand, co-founder of the national Physicians for Social Responsibility, will discuss nuclear weapons in two area public events this month.

"A Chain Reaction: Nuclear Weapons, Policy and People" is sponsored by Park University's International Center for Civic Engagement, the International Relations Council and the Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library (KCPL). The first discussion will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at the KCPL Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. The second is set for the next day, at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19, in the Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on Park University's Parkville Campus. Admission to the events is free.

Presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain have both said that nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism are some of the gravest threats to U.S. and international security. Gard and Helfand will present a brief history of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and current controversies surrounding the weapons, including Iran. They will also talk about the potential humanitarian and environmental effects of a limited, regional nuclear war.

As chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Gard's policy work focuses on nuclear non-proliferation, missile defense, Iraq, Iran, military policy, nuclear terrorism and other national security issues. Helfand, currently an emergency physician and internist practicing in Springfield, Mass., is considered an expert on the threat to human health posed by nuclear weapons, nuclear war and nuclear terrorism.

While the events are free, reservations are required. They can be made at the International Relations Council web site, www.irckc.org, or by calling (816) 221-4204. Reservations for the Park discussion can also be made by contacting Danita Hodges, at (816) 584-6209 or danita.hodges@park.edu.

For more information, contact Erik Bergrud, director of the International Center for Civic Engagement and special assistant to the president for University projects on civic engagement, at (816) 584-6412 or erik.bergrud@park.edu.