Stop U.S. Funding for Negotiating the UN Arms Trade Treaty

For years Americans have been hearing about the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and its probable infringement of our Second Amendment rights. With all the preliminary conferences and pre-meetings out of the way, the UN Arms Trade Treaty Conference will be held July 2-27 mostly in closed sessions in New York City.

According to a Heritage.org research paper on the subject, the United States must stand its ground on the UN's ATT and "should make clear ... that it will not accept the inclusion of hunting and sporting weapons or ammunition in the ATT. Nor will it accept treaty language that impinges on rights protected by the Second Amendment, requires any new internal controls, legitimates arms trafficking by dictators or terrorists, inhibits its ability to support friends and allies, or creates any additional burdens for U.S. manufacturers, importers, or exporters."

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) is trying to limit Second Amendment infringements from any new UN Arms Trade Treaty that would include civilian arms and ammunition by introducing the Second Amendment Sovereignty Act, S. 2205. Sen. Moran and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the only cosponsor so far, believe that our Second Amendment rights are not negotiable. “America leads the world in export standards to ensure arms are transferred for legitimate purposes, and this bill will make certain that law-abiding Americans are not wrongfully penalized,” Moran stated.

The pertinent portion of S. 2205 reads:

No funds may be obligated or expended to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States, in connection with negotiations for a United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, to restrict in any way the rights of United States citizens under the second amendment to the Constitution of the United States, or to otherwise regulate domestic manufacture, assembly, possession, use, transfer, or purchase of firearms, ammunition, or related items, including small arms, light weapons, or related materials.

Currently S. 2205 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Each and every member of the committee should be pressured into releasing this bill for a proper vote. Here’s a list of committee members:

John Kerry Chairman
Richard G. Lugar Ranking Member
Barbara Boxer
Robert Menendez
Benjamin L. Cardin
Robert P. Casey Jr
Jim Webb
Jeanne Shaheen
Christopher Coons
Richard J. Durbin
Tom Udall
Bob Corker
James E. Risch
Marco Rubio
James M. Inhofe
Jim DeMint
Johnny Isakson
John Barrasso
Mike Lee

Of course it is best that no deal on the UN's ATT is ever reached. This would be the surest way to protect our Second Amendment rights under the Constitution.

In the meantime, contact your Senators and Representative and tell them this treaty is neither wanted nor supported by Americans, and that S. 2205 must be passed as a safety measure. Remind them to protect what is rightfully ours, the freedom to keep and bear arms.

Thanks.

Your friends at The John Birch Society