A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.—2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In 2006, the U.N. Small Arms Treaty reared its ugly head, ostensibly to prevent the export of small arms to cartels, insurgents, and others. However, opponents of the treaty believe its true purpose was to impose a worldwide gun control standard and eventually give the U.N. the means to confiscate all guns.
The first step in the process consists of gun registration. This would give the U.N. an inventory of who has guns and what kind they have. Once they know this, they can decide which types of guns to ban, or to ban all of them, and then take steps to collect them. Ordinarily, the Senate would have to ratify the treaty for it to go into effect. However, back in 1969, the U.S. signed the Vienna Convention, which stipulated that when we sign a treaty, it will remain in force until either rejected by the Senate or renounced by the president. This treaty would also have the same standing as a Constitutional Amendment and would effectively repeal the 2nd Amendment. The Bush administration rejected the treaty and moved on.
Then, during the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama made a disparaging remark about people clinging to their God and their guns, which let us all know how he feels about gun rights. He took a lot of flak for that, but he still got elected. He and his liberal friends have made no secret of their disdain for the Second Amendment and this treaty appealed to him so he re-opened the talks. Everything was going along swimmingly well, for Obama at any rate, until the news got out that Hillary was actually set to sign the treaty.
The NRA stepped up their efforts and got commitments from 58 U.S. Senators to vote against it if it came to the Senate. Then the Internet took over, and millions of Americans signed petitions against the treaty. They called their Senators and Representatives who pressured the administration.
According to a report by Forbes, “On June 29, 130 Republican House members sent a letter to President Obama and Secretary Clinton arguing that the proposed treaty infringes on the “fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms.” The letter charges that “…the U.N.’s actions to date indicate that the ATT is likely to pose significant threats to our national security, foreign policy, and economic interests as well as our constitutional rights.” The lawmakers adamantly insist that the U.S. Government has no right to support a treaty that violates the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
So on Friday, Hillary was set to sigh a treat that would have remained in force until either the president or the Senate decide to strike it down, but she did not sign it.
We the People spoke, and Hillary did not sign it.
But we shouldn’t celebrate our victory for too long because this issue is not dead. Obama knows that if he pursues this further right now, it could truly kill any chance he has of re-election. So for now, he’ll most likely just let it lie. Once the election is over, and if he is indeed re-elected, he can and most likely will, take this up again and move forward as though nothing had ever happened.
In the meantime, the Senate is taking a few steps of its own. In a letter to concerned constituents, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said, “I support Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) in his efforts to prevent any taxpayer funds from being expended in support of negotiation of this United Nations treaty. This year, I again joined many of my Senate colleagues in a letter to the President that expresses our strong opposition to the U.S. even being a party to negotiations about this treaty.”
As time goes on, the U.N. will continue to push this treaty and others at us that have the potential to destroy our sovereignty and invalidate our Constitution. We must remain vigilant and stay involved. Without the involvement of We the People, we are nothing more than sheep.
Joan R. Neubauer
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