Lawmakers Urge Obama To Reject UN Arms Treaty As It Opens For Signature
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have banded together to urge President Obama not to sign a landmark international arms regulation treaty, as the U.N. measure opens for signature Monday.
The president has already voiced support for the treaty, which the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved on April 2. It would require countries that ratify it to establish national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms and components and to regulate arms brokers, but it will not explicitly control the domestic use of weapons in any country.
Still, gun-rights supporters on Capitol Hill warn the treaty could be used as the basis for additional gun regulations inside the U.S.
Last week, 130 members of Congress signed a letter to Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry urging them to reject the measure for this and other reasons.
“As your review of the treaty continues, we strongly encourage your administration to recognize its textual, inherent, and procedural flaws, to uphold our country’s constitutional protections of civilian firearms ownership, and to defend the sovereignty of the United States, and thus to decide not to sign this treaty,” the lawmakers wrote.
The chance of adoption by the U.S. is slim, even if Obama goes ahead and signs it — as early as Monday, or possibly months down the road. A majority of Senate members have come out against the treaty.
A two-thirds majority would be needed in the Senate to ratify.
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