As TTAG predicted, the United Nations failed to agree on an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Click here to read the non-treaty that President Obama didn’t sign—as Dick Morris so publicly predicted. If not, rest assured that the attempt to make U.S. policy on international arms trade an international standard doesn’t even feint in the direction of violating Americans’ Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Oh sure, it could be used as a lever. In theory. In reality, the ATT was DOA pre-arrival. It never stood a chance thanks to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and, to be fair, all the other gun rights orgs who exploited the process to scare their members into donating money keep their members focused on their gun rights. The NRA high-fives themselves after the jump . . .
U.N. ATT Conference Comes to an Impasse
The Conference on the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (U.N. ATT) has broken down and will not report a draft treaty to the member nations.
This is a big victory for American gun owners, and the NRA is being widely credited for killing the U.N. ATT.
For nearly 20 years, the NRA has worked tirelessly to warn American gun owners about the United Nations’ efforts to undermine the constitutional rights of law-abiding American gun owners by putting in place international controls on small arms.
NRA became a recognized Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and has monitored all U.N. activities that could impact on our Second Amendment rights. As a result, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre testified before the U.N. (2012 remarks, 2011 remarks) making it clear that the NRA would fight any international treaty that included civilian arms.
NRA worked with our allies in the U.S. Congress and successfully assembled strong bipartisan opposition to any treaty that adversely impacts the Second Amendment. On two occasions NRA was successful in convincing a majority of the U.S. Senate to sign letters to President Obama that made it clear that any treaty that included civilian arms was not going to be ratified by the U.S. Senate.
Yesterday (July 26), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) gathered the signatures of 51 Senators on a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton opposing any treaty that infringes on our rights. The letter stated “As the treaty process continues, we strongly encourage your administration not only to uphold our country’s constitutional protections of civilian firearms ownership, but to ensure–if necessary, by breaking consensus at the July conference–that the treaty will explicitly recognize the legitimacy of lawful activities associated with firearms, including but not limited to the right of self-defense. As members of the United States Senate, we will oppose the ratification of any Arms Trade Treaty that falls short of this standard.”
NRA members made their voices heard on this issue as well, calling their elected representatives and urging their opposition to the treaty. As a result, 130 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have voiced strong opposition to the treaty.
During the past week, it became increasingly possible that the Conference would fail to come to an agreement on draft language. On Thursday, the Conference President produced yet another draft of the ATT in an effort to salvage the process. The new draft, like previous ones, was wholly incompatible with the Second Amendment rights protected by our Constitution.
The proponents of the treaty have goals that are clearly at odds with the American Constitution. Their refusal to remove civilian arms from the treaty was one major issue that led to the breakdown in negotiations. The U.S. delegation made it clear that they could not move forward with the language as it had been drafted.
While this conference has failed to complete a treaty, the proponents will not give up. It is likely that a new conference will be held in the future and NRA will continue to fight to protect the rights of American gun owners.
NRA maintains its steadfast opposition to any treaty that includes civilian arms in any way. NRA will continue to work with our allies, particularly in the U.S. Senate, to insure that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is not threatened by this or any future international treaty.
From a quick review it looks like Syria, Iran and North Korea would be the ones outspoken about it. They are more than likely working in proxy for China and Russia, so they don’t have to come straight out and say we don’t like it. Mexico and Brittan seem to be the leaders in wanting a treaty. While the Brittan has pretty much an outright ban on firearms, Mexico is much the same. Unfortunately for Mexico we can see how gun bans don’t work. Hopefully this will be pushed back until after November or longer. The UN is mute and by themselves could only really scold you in the strictest possible terms for murdering thousands of your own citizens, or supplying the world with majority of it’s opium, perhaps really get mad, and shake a finger if you try to covertly make a nuclear bomb and declare to wipe another nation off the face of the earth.
The real danger from this treaty would be from our own government. They could under the guise of the TTY try and restrict sales and movement of arms within the US.
If history is any tail to tell the current administration would have no issue using surreptitious methods to implement laws they feel are for the better of us all, with little regard to the Constitution or trying to pass laws through the houses properly. Once imposed those will be harder to undo. This is by no means the end of the fight but it is a good start to stall this for as long as possible.
I say that we all celebrate. What we see here is that determined work in favor of freedom can win. Now we have to stay alert for the next time the strong defenders of human rights like Iran try this foolishness again.
I just finished thanking God, the NRA and all the tin foil brigade ( I hold the rank of Major Pain, I. T. A. ). I was very pessimistic. I hope this does not lull us into a false sense of security. As long as hysterical, uninformed, duplicitous people like Bloomberg, Schumer, Clinton…………………….., we must remain vigilant, as voiced above. To loose our rights forever, they only have to win once. What glorious news!!!
You left out are present 1# PITA 0bama!
I know, but he’s too easy. It would be like pointing out the snow on the Himalayas.
I have to wonder if they are really uninformed, or if they really are informed, but ulterior motives drive them to ignore fact.
Some may be ill informed. Bloomberg, Feinstein, and the Brady Bunch however, have alteritor motives.
That’s what I was saying , lots of letters,phone calls, and fax gets results, We also stopped the U.N. LOST treaty that would have hurt the USA BIG.. THEY WILL BE BACK , also take note how they tried to slip in a Magazine ban in another law..WATCH
It’s in the Cyber Security Act and is the fruit of Chuckie Schumers diligent pursuit of press coverage. I’ve emaild my senators complaining about the addendum and the tactics being used. What in hell is a magazine restriction doing in a internet bill? And all it will do is make mags go up in price. I’m glad I got a bunch of the Ruger box 25’s. I’ve been thinking of getting on the waiting list for a nice basic stainless 10 22. They’ll come in handy if I do.
Thank you NRA. I think I’ve seen that same Charleton Heston pose before with the rifle over his head in the Planet of the Apes.
A nation that is allegedly in the forefront of supporting the banning of civilian gun ownership worldwide is Japan. It’s a shame that Chinese civilians did not have guns to defend themselves against the Japanese troops during WWII. Gun ownership might have prevented tens of millions of Chinese civilians from being shot to death, raped, tortured, and beaten by the invading Japanese. Then there is the rest of Asia and the Pacific that the Japanese brutalized too.
Wow Aharon, you’re probably still holding a grudge over the tens of thousands of Americans they tortured and/or beheaded too!!
I think all the cities Curtis LeMay burned with his campaign of state sponsored terrorism and the two nukes in 1945 pretty much squared the deal on our side. Even General LeMay admitted to Life magazine that if the US lost the war he would be tried as a war criminal and would deserve it.
P. S. Just kidding, they’re a bunch of hypocrites.
jd
JD,
No grudge against the Japanese people. I do hold the lessons of history to reflect upon modern times and the future.
I hold a grudge against them. They fought a filthy war, and should be reminded of it periodically for at least another, oh, 50 years.
A reply to Aharon,
Don’t forget Korea. My brother served there in the fifties. He said the invaders stripped the country of all mechanization to the point of cutting off the bolts in the floor that held down the machinery. What they did to the people was inhuman. I think that’s part of the reason NK lobs a missile into the sea of japan every now and then. People talk about the German atrocities but give far less attention to what happened in the Pacific theater except for Pearl Harbor, which FDR knew was coming.
Sammy,
I haven’t forgotten about Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and many other places. I’ve read the stories of how the Japanese troops forced the Korean women to being sex slaves. I earlier just used China as an example.
No sweat. Not a criticism. I was just reinforcing what you said.
been at this since 68. i was too young to vote then but i made myself a pita for those in my family that were old enough. since the bad guys keep trying i expect to be at this til i die. fortunately my kids are also at it and so will my grandkids.
Well, now that we officially know the UN isn’t a threat, how about the full force of the NRA behind killing the magazine ban amendment to the cybersecurity bill?
Sounds like a great idea to me.
I say Obama should get credit for this. Just like the killing of bin Laden, it happened on his watch.
I’d say that the Senate and the NRA and other gun rights groups get the bulk of the glory here. Obama wants to be reelected. He knows that any attempt at gun control will screw that for him. He surely knows that the Senate would never pass the treaty, even if he signed it. Why spend political capital that he doesn’t have on something that’s guaranteed to fail?
I see this as nothing more than a head fake.
The Aurora shootings happened and Obama’s not reacting.
The UN Treaty is up for signing and Obama’s lets it pass (with a comment about coming back to it after the election)
In my view, anything majorly Anti-Gun RIGHT BEFORE AN ELECTION is suicide. so he’s not doing anything that might convince the middle of the road people to rally against him.
I think he’s all willing to let a few jabs and punches get through if it buys him a second term. Because a second term would allow him to deliver the single greatest knockout blow of them all. And that is another Supreme Court Appointee which could change the rules forever.
He is intelligently picking his battles. Don’t be fooled.
Hasn’t LaPierre been in that position since the 90s? Can’t really see much to complain about in this instance, but they could use some new blood at the NRA, it seems. Of course, I’m a new to guns, so I may be blowing hot air.
And my thanks to all the volunteers from NAGR for standing for hours getting thousands of petitions signed against this UN treaty.
Thank You,
National Association for Gun Rights
As predicted two weeks ago. I stand by it.
Methinks you’re being a tiche cavalier and a tad harsh on Mr. Morris. I don’t mind at all giving Mr. Morris my email address in order to sign the petition that is delivered to our representatives. His warnings are part and parcel of the effort it took to defeat — or at least delay — this horrible treaty.
I don’t give the NRA any credit for it at all, nor Obama, nor Clinton, nor 51 US Senators. The UN fell to its usual bickering–almost inevitable when every treaty has to be accurately translated into god knows how many different languages–and could not agree on language. Big whoop. Wayne can take his egotistical self-serving news release and wipe himself with it. Talk about grandstanding!
That sounds about right. I agree with you, Mark.
Maybe so. But I suspect that the efforts of the NRA to help publicize the potential dangers of this treaty helped to create an environment hostile to the successful completion of this treaty effort. If the US were quietly working to get this treaty enacted without fear of repercussions at the ballot box, we might be looking at a different realty now.
Agreed Mark. I dropped my NRA membership when I realized they were more about improving the gun industry’s bottom line than second amendment rights.
You can’t have guns without a gun industry. You know, a bunch of companies where people can make a profit. And you can’t have a gun industry without the blessed 2nd amendment.
I am very glad this treaty failed! Any kind of crime is a sad thing but why should I give up my rights and guns because of some one elses crime? I have been a gun collector for overy 25 years and never have any of my guns been used in crime or ever hurt anyone. I have only used them for hunting and the sporting purpose of shooting paper targets at a gun range. Cars and baseball bats kill plenty of people but no one is trying to keep me from driving to a baseball game.
Say what you want about the NRA, RF. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
+1
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