and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land."

[BurfordTJustice]

Obama Administration to Sign U.N. Arms Trade Treaty "In the Very Near
Future"
As we reported last month, on April 2, the United Nations General Assembly
voted 153-4 to pass the Arms Trade Treaty, with the United States voting in
favor and several countries abstaining. The vote in the General Assembly
pushed the treaty process forward after negotiations twice failed to deliver
on the goal of developing the treaty by consensus. The Obama Administration
is expected to sign the treaty soon after it is opened for signature on June
3.

According to a May 16 Amnesty International article, a senior US
diplomat--Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman--has confirmed the
U.S. government will be quick to sign the new treaty. According to the
article, Countryman said on Wednesday that the United States would sign the
ATT "in the very near future."

If the deeply problematic treaty is signed, the fight will move to the U.S.
Senate, where the Obama administration would need to find 67 senators to
ratify the treaty.

Of course, anti-gun Amnesty International approves of the treaty and is
advocating its signing and ratification. In addition, Amnesty International
has gone so far as to claim that the treaty will not affect "domestic gun
control regulations."

On the contrary, the ATT does indeed threaten the rights and privacy of
American gun owners. Signatories will be encouraged to keep information on
the "end users" of arms imported into their territory and supply such
information to the exporting country. Exporting nations, nearly all of which
have civilian firearm control regimes far harsher than the U.S., will be
encouraged to take the firearm control laws of an importing country into
account before approving a transfer of arms. And the treaty also encourages
states to adopt domestic legislation to facilitate the treaty's onerous
requirements.

A majority of senators have already made clear their opposition to ratifying
the ATT. On March 23, 53 senators endorsed an amendment to the Senate Budget
Resolution for Fiscal Year 2014, "establish[ing] a deficit neutral fund" to
oppose United States entrance into the treaty. Additionally, Sen. Jerry
Moran (R-Kans.), along with 32 cosponsors, has put forth a concurrent
resolution expressing the Senate's opposition to the ATT, as it "fails to
expressly recognize the fundamental, individual right to keep and to bear
arms and the individual right of personal self-defense... and thus risks
infringing on freedoms protected by the Second Amendment."

Unfortunately, once a treaty has been signed, it normally remains available
for the Senate to ratify in perpetuity, unless a later president withdraws
from it. This means that American gun owners must remain vigilant in
ensuring this treaty is never ratified. The NRA will continue to keep gun
owners up to date on any movement toward ratification, and will work with
our allies in the Senate to ensure the treaty remains unratified.

Read John Bolton and John Yoo's WSJ piece on why this treaty should never be
ratified.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324504704578413110123095782.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop