ARMS CONTROL ADVOCATES DELIVER 50,000-SIGNATURE PETITION TO WHITE HOUSE

A handful of arms control groups have submitted to the White House a petition that includes more than 50,000 signatures urging President Obama to follow through on his vision to reduce United States reliance on nuclear weapons. The groups submitted the petition during a May 7 meeting with Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting Ben Rhodes, but only publicized the submission yesterday. Among the groups that helped develop the petition were the Arms Control Association, the Council for a Livable World and Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Women’s Action for New Directions, the American Values Network, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The petition suggests that “in the 21st century, nuclear weapons are a global liability, not an asset” and urges Obama to “end outdated U.S. nuclear war-fighting strategy, dramatically reduce the number of U.S. nuclear weapons and the number of submarines, missiles, and bombers that carry those weapons, and take U.S. nuclear weapons off high alert.” It says that “maintaining large numbers of nuclear forces on alert increases the risk of accident or miscalculation.”