Lobbying Against Cluster Bombs

Anthony Christopher-Smith had never heard of a cluster bomb before attending FCNL’s Young Adult Lobby Weekend in 2007. A graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, Anthony had been on one lobby visit prior to the lobby weekend. But when Anthony heard about the deadly impact that cluster bombs have on civilians throughout the world, he decided to learn more and then introduce his representative, William Lacy Clay (MO), to the subject. “I was roughly familiar with the landmine issue, and knew nothing about cluster bombs, so I decided to challenge myself,” says Anthony. “And the more I learned about them, the more interested I became.”

FCNL staff person Laura Weis and Missouri constituent Anthony Christopher-Smith met with an aide to Rep.William Lacy Clay of Missouri to discuss legislation banning cluster bombs.

As it turned out, Rep. Clay’s staff had not heard much about cluster bombs either, so Anthony shared what he had learned about the indiscriminate killing and maiming caused by cluster bombs, many of which were made and used by the United States. He also urged the representative to cosponsor the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007.
Shortly after his visit, Anthony followed up with a phone call to the staffer to whom he had spoken and learned that his extra work had paid off. Rep. Clay had decided to cosponsor the Cluster Munitions
Civilian Protection Act.

“The system really does work sometimes,” he says. “The best way to make progress is to be friendly, informed, patient, and to try to show them how their interests and yours can come together.”