Action: Ban the Bombs that Keep on Killing
In the last 15 years, the U.S. has used cluster bombs in civilian-populated areas of the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. These deadly bombs disperse smaller “bomblets” that are designed to kill all living creatures within a specific area that is often as large as several football fields. The U.S. still has an arsenal that includes nearly 1 billion of the deadly bomblets.
This type of bomb keeps on killing for decades because bomblets that fail to detonate on impact become explosive “duds” that are akin to landmines. Since the last U.S. cluster bomb was dropped on Laos in 1973, 12,000 Laotian civilians, many of whom were not born when the bombs were dropped, have been killed or injured by an unexploded cluster dud.
The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007 (S. 594), introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Patrick Leahy (VT), would ban the use of cluster bombs in or near civilian areas and ban the use, sale, and transfer of almost the entire existing U.S. arsenal of cluster bombs.
As of April 5, the legislation has six cosponsors. In order for the Senate to move forward on this bill, it needs much more public support from members of Congress.
Take Action
Please contact your senators today and urge them to cosponsor the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007 (S. 594). If your senators are already cosponsors, thank them, and urge them to work to bring this bill to a vote in this session of Congress.
Background
- Download FCNL’s Cluster Bomb Fact Sheet (
 PDF) and distribute it in your community
- See a short video on how one particular type of cluster bomb works and its effects on the people of Iraq
- Find out more
Contacting Legislators
Contact your members of Congress through FCNL's web site.
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Sen. ________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Rep. ________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
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