The children left out of Obama's inaugural speech 23JAN13

THE nra isn't just opposed to gun control in the U.S., keeping all of us, including our children,  exposed to a higher risk of gun violence that the people of all industrial countries. They are also opposed to any international arms control treaty that would impose controls on the international arms market (AND NOT ON ANY ASPECT OF GUN OWNERSHIP IN THE U.S.), protecting the profits of the gun industry in America and allowing the flow of American guns to Mexican drug cartels and keeping the international weapons trade open and flourishing. Terrorist will continue to have easy access to weapons and children around the world are exposed to gun violence as child soldiers and as victims of drug violence, political and economic violence and terrorism. Please sign the Amnesty International petition to Pres Obama calling on him to support the International Arms Control Treaty being drafted at the U.N. This from A.I.

	Children as targets? Children as soldiers? All children deserve to be protected from gun violence no matter where they live.
	The United States is not the only country where children are facing an epidemic of gun violence. While in the U.S., we continue to grapple with the tragic reality of children who routinely face gun violence in their communities and children who increasingly are the targets of mass shootings, in other places around the world, we see the heartbreaking consequences of children who also face thedaily horrors of armed conflict, many forced to become soldiers. During Monday's inaugural address, President Obama said: "Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm." However, the President could have -- and should have -- broadened his statement to include children from the war-torn neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria to valleys of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo, because if protecting all children is our shared destination, then we can’t afford to let our concern be confined by U.S. borders. We must call on the President to lead efforts to establish a strong Arms Trade Treaty, one that will help stop irresponsible and illegal arms transfers around the world that directly contribute to the recruitment of child soldiers. You have probably heard about Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda -- the group responsible for widespread murder, rape, maiming and amassing throngs of child soldiers. Fewer people know about the recruitment of child soldiers by Bosco Ntaganda, a commander of the FPLC armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fewer still realize that the armed groups who have taken control of the northern part of Mali, as well as the Malian army, are also using child soldiers. Why do children in Uganda, the DRC and Mali continue to have a target on their back?  Because a global free-for-all lets weapons flow into the hands of armed groups and governments who, in turn, recruit children and commit other grave abuses. By failing to make the establishment of a global Arms Trade Treaty a priority, President Obama is letting them get away with it. Protect all children from violence -- please call for a strong Arms Trade Treaty. It's simple; no child should be forced to stand on either side of a weapon. But the gun lobby in the U.S. is still trying to make you believe that this is about taking guns away from law-abiding Americans. It's not. The Arms Trade Treaty would put in place common-sense measures, like background checks on international arms sales, to stop or at least slow the sale of weapons between countries that fuel conflict, atrocities and instability as well as lead to the displacement and deaths of millions of civilians and the continued use of child soldiers. More than 43,000 of you have helped set the record straight for the NRA's leadership. Thanks for supporting children everywhere who are trapped by armed conflict. Your voice is so important as we prepare for the UN to hold its conference on the Arms Trade Treaty in March. Every child deserves that same right no matter where they live. With your help, we can make this Arms Trade Treaty "bullet-proof". Michelle Ringuette Chief of Campaigns & Programs Amnesty International USA		Protect children from the global arms trade President Obama, in his second term in office, can help protect all children from gun violence around the world by supporting a strong Arms Trade Treaty in March.
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