U.N. gun ban faces pre-emptive attack

United Nations headquarters

A gun rights organization has launched a petition effort to build opposition to plans being discussed by U.S. officials and the United Nations that could result in the confiscation and destruction of privately owned firearms inside the U.S.

The online petition, run by officials with the National Association for Gun Rights, offers participants a conduit to tell their U.S. senators a "Small Arms Treaty"'  being discussed is "nothing more than a massive global gun control scheme, designed to register, ban and confiscate firearms from law-abiding citizens."

Spokesman Luke O'Dell has explained in on online statement that the exact wording of the proposal so far has been kept "under wraps."

"But looking at previous versions of the U.N. 'Small Arms Treaty,' you and I can get a good idea of what's likely in the works," he wrote. "Don't let any of the 'experts' lull you to sleep by saying 'Oh, we have it handled' or 'Until you know exactly what's in the treaty you can't fight against it.'"

"Judging by Ambassador [John] Bolton's comments – who certainly knows what to expect from the American-freedom-hating international crowd that infests the U.N. – we are certain the treaty's going to address the private ownership of firearms," O'Dell wrote.

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In a video posted on the website for the National Rifle Association, Bolton said, "I think it was clear from the outset that the Obama administration would move in this direction. The only thing that's surprising is that it's taken this long."

He said the presentations have portrayed the "Small Arms Treaty" as something to address international arms trade. "But there's no doubt that the real agenda is domestic firearms control," he said.

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He said there are many references that the only targets would be "illicit" arms.

"That begs the whole question. What's legal and what's illegal in a domestic application?" he said.

"Whatever the appearance on the surface, there's no doubt that domestic firearms control is right at the top of the agenda," he said.

O'Dell suggested that the new "international" law could bring tougher licensing requirements, programs to confiscate "unauthorized" firearms and even a ban on the private ownership of weapons inside the U.S.

The petition delivers to senators a request to oppose any plans to ratify a U.N. "Small Arms Treaty."

"The ratification of this treaty would also likely create an international gun registry, setting the stage for full-scale gun confiscation," it states.

WND reported last fall when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton first announced the U.S. had changed its stance and would support negotiations of an Arms Trade Treaty to regulate international gun trafficking.

The Bush administration had opposed it.

The U.S. also at that point joined a nearly unanimous 153-1 U.N. vote to adopt a resolution setting out a timetable on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty, including a U.N. conference to produce a final accord in 2012.

While Clinton called the plan a "crucial national security concern for the United States," gun rights advocates said it was an attempt under President Obama to sneak gun control into the U.S. without having the issue debated in Congress.

At the time, Brian Wood, disarmament expert for Amnesty International, said in a Bloomberg report the U.S. is the largest conventional arms trader in the world and the unregulated trade of conventional arms "can fuel instability, transnational organized crime and terrorism."

"All countries participate in the conventional arms trade and share responsibility for the 'collateral damage' it produces – widespread death, injuries and human rights abuses," said Rebecca Peters, director of the International Action Network on Small Arms in an Agence France-Presse interview. "Now finally governments have agreed to negotiate legally binding global controls on this deadly trade."

But Bob Barr, a former U.S. representative and presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, explained in a separate interview with the NRA how a treaty that looks like it's all about fighting international crime will necessarily lead to erosion of Second Amendment gun rights:

"Even though [treaty advocates] all say, 'We are not going to involve domestic laws and the right to keep and bear arms, that won't be affected by all this,' that's nonsense," Barr said. "There's no way that if you buy into something like this and a treaty is passed regulating to ensure that firearms transfers internationally don't fall into the hands of people that the U.N. doesn't like, there's no way that that mechanism will work unless you have some form of national regulation and national tracking."

The effort is just one more of the outreaches launched under Obama that critics fear could lead to additional gun bans. They have expressed concern his nominee to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration could arbitrarily ban guns across large segments of society as a "job safety" concern.

Also, Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, supported Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns before it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. And since Obama has been in office, he's already advocated for a treaty that would require a federal license for hunters to reload their ammunition, has expressed a desire to ban "assault" weapons, has seen a plan to require handgun owners to submit to mental health evaluations and sparked a rush on ammunition purchases with his history of anti-gun positions.

Citizens wishing to speak out on the issue can contact the State Department or the National Rifle Association.

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