Fairfax, VA – -(Ammoland.com)- With the country’s attention focused on the results of the national elections, it is easy to forget about the fight being waged on our Second Amendment-protected rights in the international arena.
While there are numerous initiatives that we continue to monitor internationally, the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is at the forefront of the NRA’s focus to protect America’s law-abiding gun owners from the continued push for gun control by international anti-gun interests.
Since John Kerry signed the ATT on behalf of the Obama administration in late 2013, the only thing standing in the way of the treaty’s final approval has been our pro-gun allies in the U.S. Senate, whose vocal opposition has prevented the current administration from forwarding a resolution for ratification.
Billed as a treaty focused on the regulation of international trade in conventional arms ranging from fighter jets to small arms and light weapons, supporters of the ATT are coming to realize that this initiative has neither a means to challenge its violators nor any real chance to impact the international flow of military arms.
In other words, it’s a total failure.
As the NRA predicted, however, the focus of the treaty is now shifting almost exclusively to the domestic civilian trade in firearms. While we expected this shift all along, the move to undermine and attack the Second Amendment-protected rights of ordinary law-abiding Americans came sooner than we could have imagined.
Never was this clearer than at the Second Conference of States Parties to the ATT. The purpose of this meeting was to assess treaty implementation issues and identify ways to improve compliance by nations that continue to trade in conventional arms. This meeting, held in late August, marked not only the beginning of the implementation process, but it also is where the politics of domestic gun control began to rear their ugly head once again.
The third speaker on the agenda, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Claudia Ruiz Massieu, diverted from the customary welcoming remarks and messages of “good will” to turn her discussion into a political rally, urging those in attendance that civilian ownership and transfers should fall under the purview of the ATT. In other words, that our individual gun rights should be subject to international control.
Further capitalizing on her 15 minutes of fame, the secretary aligned herself with Barack Obama’s false assertion that it is “easier for you to buy a handgun and clips than it is for you to buy a fresh vegetable” by boldly proclaiming that in America, “It is easier to acquire a firearm than a liter of milk or a box of cereal.”
This type of coordinated messaging doesn’t just happen. Obviously, the supporters of the ATT see it as one more opportunity to undermine our Second Amendment-protected rights.
After all, we are unique on the world stage when it comes to firearm freedoms, and many are willing to use international agreements to push their anti-gun agenda in America.
One would think that the members of the U.S. delegation, each sworn to support and defend the Constitution, would have come to the defense of our freedoms during Massieu’s attack, but each just sat idly by. They had obviously received their marching orders from the Obama administration and accepted the attack on our rights with silence.
Without the U.S. delegation defending our Constitution and its protections, treaty supporters quickly capitalized on the vacuum of leadership. Previously, the ATT’s proponents had consistently argued that civilian owners of firearms were not their target, but here a direct assault was under way.
Not surprisingly, existing ATT language was amended through interpretation—what reads as up was now being interpreted as down and “voluntary” categories designed to address civilian small arms were included in the treaty’s reporting requirements. There is little doubt that “voluntary” is soon to become mandatory.
The good news is that we can stop this brazen attack on our rights. As it is a treaty, the Senate is required to approve a resolution of ratification before the U.S. becomes bound by its terms. If the Senate considers moving on ratification of the ATT, America’s gun owners can tell them loud and clear that our constitutional freedoms will not be governed by the anti-gun desires of foreign interests.
About Chris W. Cox
NRA-ILA Executive Director
As NRA’s chief lobbyist and principal political strategist, Chris W. Cox oversees nine NRA Institute for Legislative Action divisions – Federal Affairs, State & Local Affairs, Public Affairs, Research & Information, Grassroots, Hunting/Conservation/Wildlife, Office of Legislative Counsel, External Affairs (International) and Fiscal. He also serves as president of the NRA Freedom Action Foundation (NRA-FAF), which conducts non-partisan voter registration and citizen education, and chairman of NRA Country, which brings country music artists together with NRA members in support of our Second Amendment freedoms and hunting heritage.
About:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
Sorry… It should be LEECH ! Noticed it as I hit the POST COMMENT button.
The U.N. has not, nor will it EVER do anything pro American or to help us. It is nothing but a left wing driven LEACH feeding in and ON the United States, nothing more…. ELIMINATE THE LEACH !
The Canadian government has signed on to this un-democratic POS and is looking to turn over our gun laws to the whim of the UN (which is significantly run by countries who are NOT democratic). God help us.
Just as I thought, they refused to post my comments.
I have commented several times on getting rid of this p.o.s. that costs taxpayer money and makes citizens have to put up with deligates that do not want to obey our laws. The third world class brain surgeons vote against us at every chance they get. Ammoland always sensors my remarks and do not publish them. We will see about this one.
Sent to Senators Brown and Portman on 12/21/2016,
The UN Arms Trade Treaty is incompatible with the Constitution of the United States.
It never should have been signed in the first place.
It will never be ratified so let’s send to the trash bin where it belonged from the start.
Thank You Sincerely,
John Hauserman
Want to Own a Gun? Send free pre-written message to your congress members
Click link:: https://www.jbs.org/federal-legislative-action-alerts
Get the US out of the UN. Click link: https://www.votervoice.net/iframes/JBS/Campaigns/47237/Respond
It will be a COLD DAY IN HELL when the NAZI UN tells me what to do. Time to send those A-HOLES home and turn OUR UN building into a Homeless Shelter for our VETS.
Randy, that’s more or less what I wrote about an hour ago, suggesting that we deport all the unfriendly ambassadors and staff, burn down the UN building, push the rubble into the river, and build a VA hospital on the site (after delousing and fumigation) but the nervous nellies at ammoland.com censored my opinion. My wry sense of humor is not to be tolerated, despite my right under the First Amendment. I should have used a smiling emoticon, I guess.
Let’s get rid of ALL enemy agents, and let’s support our fellow veterans!
Your post apparently took a while to “land” but it is there…. Personally, I agree with your sentiment, but not your method. That is a good building. No need to spend the timemoney to remove it. COnvert it into a natioinal centre for Vets who are struggling, and need help in various ways. Take that monument of filth and disgust down, melt it, and make brass shell casings out of the metal and distribute them through the CMP. Make 7.62 x 51 ammunition available to we citizens at low cost. Oh, and let the newly relocated UN delegates know precisely… Read more »
Aye, that.
A Homeless Shelter for our VETS, that would be a much better use of the building. DO IT.
And lets turn the monument into a Snub Nose.
Except for the (added) pollution it would cause, I would be in favor of deporting the noxious nations’ ambassadors and staff, burning down that seditious ho-house, and bulldozing it into the river. In its stead, I would vote for a VA hospital on the site – after it is deloused and fumigated.
and the “other” bugs carefully removed. No need to have every conversation inside the building recorded.
I find the UN monument offensive and a direct affront the spirit of the Constitution of The United States of America, on whose soil it stands. I do not know who the traitorous patriots were who approved its placement there, but I firmly support any movement to have it immediately removed. It is disgraceful for us to cow to the whims of foreign powers. That thing serves no purpose but to stand as a reminder of how weak and unprincipled our leadership can sometimes be.
I also find the UN monument offensive and a direct affront the spirit of the Constitution of The United States of America, on whose soil it stands…
I just find the entire UN offensive to Freedom-loving people everywhere! It should be defunded and disbanded.
The UN is nothing but a terrorist organization looking for a reason to exist while destroying all governments that believe in the individual.
1) It will be a day of celebration when we evict the toxic UN and send its HQ to Pyongyang.
2) Chris, dang if you don’t look like the spitton’ image of actor Tony Randall! (not a slam)
Since its inception, the “United Nations” has been on the road to the “One World Government”. It is marked with anti-democratic rhetoric and passing rules and regulations that are supposedly binding on Sovereign Nations although they are not elected by anyone that I know of. I certainly did not vote for the US representative to the UN.
This organization is extremely dangerous, to say the least and should be abolished immediately. The easiest way for this to happen is for the US to withdraw as without our taxpayer money, it would not exist!
When our government allowed that gun and the UN to operate here, they all became traitors and should ALL be treated as such Not in a court of law but from a tree, they have one purpose and thats destroy america….
If only americans would march on un and destroy it…. we have this right
People like kerry and obama are traitors and should be treated as such, tye twisted gun outside the UN building should be destroyed, ram it with a truck or blow it up and americans all have that right, the UN is a terrorist org and should be destroyed and the people inside jailed and charged with terrorist activitys, destroy that gun….
We need to safeguard what our forefathers invision could happened in the future of our country, by writing the 2nd amendment for future generations to come, what a great vision they foresaw