| This was adopted as the final
of the three priorities of the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA)
in the early 1990’s, following the Persian Gulf War. It
was learned that Sadaam Hussein had been equipped for his military
adventures (including attacking Iran and invading Kuwait) by the
US and other Western powers. The rationale was that he was a counter
to the Islamic threat represented by Iran, and that we could “control”
him by supplying his weapons.
This cynical policy, which we call “weapons
trafficking,” simply leads to more and more nations—including
dictators and human rights violators—in possession of high
tech weapons supplied by the US and others. The last five times
US forces were sent into combat, they faced US supplied weapons.
This self-defeating phenomenon is called the “boomerang
effect.”
CFPA and others worked hard on stopping such
cynical, self-defeating policies by trying to change US policy
regarding arms exports. It made sense to focus on the US, since
we are by far the world’s largest weapons supplier. We proposed
an “Arms Trade Code of Conduct” bill, which passed
the US House of Representatives in the late 1990’s. However,
the Code of Conduct never passed the US Senate and never became
law.
In 1993, CFPA decided to broaden its understanding
of our work on this priority. The NRA was trying at that time
to rescind New Jersey’s Assault Weapons Ban, which had been
signed into law just two years prior. We felt that if we were
against weapons trafficking abroad, how could we look the other
way when weapons of war were being legitimized and used within
our own country?
Thankfully, together with other New Jersey groups,
we defeated the NRA’s rescission effort. Subsequently, we
played a major role in passing the Brady Bill, requiring a 3-day
wait for a background check before being allowed to purchase a
handgun; and the Childproof Handgun Bill in the NJ legislature.
Governor McGreevy signed that bill into law in December 2002.
The Rev. Robert
Moore
Executive Director, Coalition for Peace Action
December 10, 2003
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