KITTERY (AP) - After rallying at several spots in New Hampshire and Maine on Saturday, supporters of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard gathered outside the yard's gates to urge Washington to keep the installation open through a new round of military base closures.

About 500 people rallied in a steady rain near the main gate, many wearing yellow T-shirts and carrying yellow signs that read "Save the Shipyard for the Future."

"To close Portsmouth would be to perform a lobotomy on the Navy's nuclear submarine repair, maintenance and modernization program, and we will not stand by and let that happen," said Paul O'Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council at the shipyard.

O'Connor told the crowd that the Los Angeles Class submarines the yard repairs are the workhorses of the Navy's fast attack fleet, and that the yard has work scheduled on those well into the next decade. He said the yard also is preparing for maintenance work on Virginia class submarines.

The rally also drew members of both states' congressional delegations.

"You don't penalize the best shipyard we have," said Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, added the two states are working together to save the yard. "We'll make sure this message is heard loud and clear in the Pentagon," she said.

The rally was organized just weeks before Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is scheduled to release a list proposed bases closures.

The front gate rally followed a series of rallies and marches Saturday in New Hampshire and Maine.

The Maine and New Hampshire delegations met in Kittery before marching to the yard.

Supporters of Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine have also worked in recent weeks to ensure policy makers in Washington are aware of the base's mission.