Obama Administration Signs United Nations Arms Trade Treaty

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September 25, 2013


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Obama Administration Signs United Nations Arms Trade Treaty


Fairfax, Va. – Today, Secretary of State John Kerry signed the United
Nations Arms Trade Treaty on behalf of the Obama administration. The
National Rifle Association strongly opposes this treaty, which is a
clear violation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"The Obama administration is once again demonstrating its contempt for
our fundamental, individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms," said Chris
W. Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative
Action. "This treaty threatens individual firearm ownership with an
invasive registration scheme. The NRA will continue working with the
United States Senate to oppose ratification of the ATT."

A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate is already on record in
opposition to ratification of the ATT. On March 23, the Senate adopted
an amendment to its FY 2014 Budget Resolution, offered by Sen. James
Inhofe (R-OK), that establishes a deficit-neutral fund for "the
purpose of preventing the United States from entering into the United
Nations Arms Trade Treaty." This amendment is in addition to the
previous efforts of Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA)
to pass concurrent resolutions opposing the treaty in their respective
chambers.

Notably, the ATT includes "small arms and light weapons" within its
scope, which covers firearms owned by law-abiding citizens. Further,
the treaty urges recordkeeping of end users, directing importing
countries to provide information to an exporting country regarding
arms transfers, including "end use or end user documentation" for a
"minimum of ten years." Each country is to "take measures, pursuant to
its national laws, to regulate brokering taking place under its
jurisdiction for conventional arms." Data kept on the end users of
imported firearms is a de-facto registry of law-abiding firearms
owners, which is a violation of federal law. Even worse, the ATT could
be construed to require such a registry to be made available to
foreign governments.

"These are blatant attacks on the constitutional rights and liberties
of every law-abiding American. The NRA will continue to fight this
assault on our fundamental freedom," concluded Cox.

-NRA-
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's
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