Presidents Barack Obama and Felipe Calderón
AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Having backed off--for now--from the politically difficult push for a ban of so-called "assault weapons," President Obama hopes to assuage Mexican President Felipe Calderón's disappointment with a promise to push the Senate to ratify the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and other Related Materials, a treaty signed in 1997, but never ratified in the U.S.
President Obama announced in a visit here today that he will push the U.S. Senate to ratify an inter-American arms trafficking treaty designed to curb the flow of guns and ammunition to drug cartels and other armed groups in the hemisphere.
Obama no doubt believes that ratification of this treaty is much more feasible than passage of a renewed AWB, and in that assessment he is almost certainly correct. There is, for example, no indication to this point of any organized resistance to ratification of the treaty. Although the NRA contests the Washington Post article's contention that it participated in the meeting at which the treaty was drafted, the NRA has not made clear that it has determined the treaty to be a threat to gun rights in the U.S., and thus something to be forcefully opposed.
Even a cursory glance at the text should convince any gun rights advocacy group (or individual) that this agreement is indeed dangerous to the rights of American gun owners. This section stands out (emphasis added):
1. "Illicit manufacturing": the manufacture or assembly of firearms, ammunition, explosives, and other related materials:
a. from components or parts illicitly trafficked; or
b. without a license from a competent governmental authority of the State Party where the manufacture or assembly takes place; or
c. without marking the firearms that require marking at the time of manufacturing.
I can only assume that this would mandate that anyone who reloads ammunition to save money (and rather a lot of it, given today's ammo prices) acquire a government issued license to do so. What about people who purchase incomplete firearms frames, treated under current U.S. law as inert hunks of metal, and complete the firearm themselves? Would that now require licensing? It certainly seems so. Unacceptable.
The larger issue, of course, is that suddenly that which shall not be infringed would become subject to international regulation, and as restrictive as gun laws in the U.S. have become, they're still not draconian enough for the tastes of much of the rest of the world.
That's their problem, and it needs to remain their problem.
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Austin Gun Rights Examiner Howard Nemerov will be on NRA's Daily News show at 3 PM EDT today (moved from 9:20 PM EDT tonight), discussing his article Gun control and saving Captain Phillips
Howard's interview will air again on NRA News' flagship program "Cam & Company" tonight at 10:40pm Eastern.
Visit www.NRANews.com to listen live to the broadcast! If you miss the show, you can listen to an archived edition until the the next live edition of "Cam & Company" airs.
NRA News is a daily internet and satellite radio (Sirius Patriot 144) news program sponsored by the NRA. Listen weekdays from 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM EDT for the latest in Second Amendment related news and politics.
Check out other Gun Rights Examiners:
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Comments
Certainly sounds like a new way to sneak in more gun grabbing through the back door. Thanks for the update, Kurt.
Same old rhetoric - same old stuff - get it voted down & out!!!! BHo too!!!!!!!!!!
"That's their problem, and it needs to remain their problem."
That's exactly the point. We are governed by OUR laws, not those from another country. When U.S. citizens are visiting other countries, THEN they're subject to those laws. While they're in THIS country, OUR laws apply, period. If the rest of the world doesn't like our Second Amendment rights, that's really too damn bad for them.
Thank you very much for this information!
Reposting comment from Cordrea's blog
Look, there is nothing wrong with CIFTA. Actually, it is a good thing, giving us just a little leverage to get Mexico to show us all the guns they confiscate.
It does not become law in the us. In fact, it clearly states that nothing in there shall supercede a countries' current laws. The US is not going to "give access" to all of our records to other nations. No international investigators are going to show up at your door. And as far as reloading goes, if you are buying powder a ton at a time, then the ATF already knows about you.
As far as the GAO is concerned, they are just trying to stir things up to differentiate themselves from the NRA, who has been on something of a high lately (thanks to Helmke and others blaming them for all that is evil in the world).
There is nothing to worry about here. It is just GOA playing politics.
There are more important threats out there. Don't worry about this one.
Betu, why do your assurances remind me eerily of "We're from the government, and we're here to help"?
I just have a little experience in how treaties work. I've also read the full language, not just GOA's selective portions. THIS IS NOT A LAW!!
Sorry, hit "send" to quickly. Any way, I agree with you most of the time, but seriously, this is nothing to get excited about. It is a GOA political play.
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