Contact your members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor the Victim-activated Landmine Abolition Act of 2006

On August 1, Senators Patrick Leahy (VT) and Arlen Specter (PA) introduced the "Victim-activated Landmine Abolition Act of 2006" (S. 3768) in the U.S. Senate. Representatives McGovern (MA) and English (PA) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 6178, on September 26. The Victim-activated Landmine Abolition Act of 2006 prohibits the United States from procuring landmines and other victim-activated weapons under any circumstances. While not banning the use of landmines, Congressional adoption of this bill would constitute an essential step toward a total ban by enacting a legislative freeze of the production of landmines and other weapons that are set off by a victim. It would halt the Bush administration’s plans to produce new antipersonnel mine systems.

The U.S. is one of only thirteen countries left in the world that produce or reserve the right to produce antipersonnel mines. If this bill passes, the U.S. would be removed for that shameful list. The world expects more from the U.S. and so do its citizens. Weapons that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians are inhumane, and should not be produced by the United States or any country. It is long past time for the U.S. to join with the rest of the world and ban the procurement of these weapons

TAKE ACTION
Contact your members of Congress.  Encourage your senators to cosponsor S. 3768 and your representative to cosponsor H.R. 6178.   Tell them that you believe the U.S. should be a leader on humanitarian issues, and not impeding progress. It is time for the Congress to ban production of landmines or any other weapon that can be detonated by a victim.  A world free of the scourge of landmines will remain out of reach as long as the U.S. continues to reserve the right to produce these indiscriminate weapons.
 
To write to your representative, click here: http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=9095221
To write to your senators, click here: http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8951251

 LEARN MORE
For more information on the legislation, go to: http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1995&issue_id=9