March 30: National call-in day to ban cluster bombs

I've written in the past about the problems associated with the use of cluster bombs in warfare. They are indiscriminate and imprecise, and they are notorious for killing or maiming innocent civilians, including children.

In fact, according to a study by Handicap International, 98 percent of cluster bomb victims are civilians and 27 percent are children.

How can anyone justify their use when 98 percent of these things lead to these horrific violations of the Geneva Conventions?

So, earlier this month, Congress and President Obama permanently outlawed exports of nearly all U.S. cluster munitions.

But exporting is one thing, and using is another. We need to take another step. The U.S. must have absolutely nothing to do with these weapons. We need to make sure sure the U.S. military never again uses its own vast arsenal of nearly 700 million cluster munitions.

Legislation was recently introduced that would effectively block the use of cluster munitions by the United States (S. 416/H.R. 981). But we need to build strong co-sponsorship of this legislation to make it happen.

To that end, the United Nations Association of the USA's Adopt-A-Minefield campaign has named today, March 30, as a National Call-In Day to give cluster bombs the boot.

To participate, first check to see if your Representative and/or Senators have already signed on. If not, call them and ask that they co-sponsor this important legislation.

Passing this bill will help to restore this country's reputation as one that respects human rights and international law. But, most importantly, it's the right thing to do.