The gun rights industry and the gun control industry both rely on fear to push their agenda—and raise money. One side shouts “The Gun Grabbers are coming! The Gun Grabbers are coming!” The other side shouts “We need to pass common sense gun laws to prevent needless gun violence!” At the moment, the anti-anti-gun side of the debate is winning. Especially, it must be said, with the National Rifle Association on the case. Although TTAG has taken the NRA to task for fear mongering and OFWG myopia, the org is there, fighting the good fight. In fact, they’re one of the two main reasons the United Nations Small Arms Treaty poses no threat to U.S. gun owners . . .
1. The U.S. firearms industry will have none of it
It’s difficult to appreciate the size and power of the international defence industry. For example, weapons are the UK’s number one export. Without them, the Nanny State would collapse. In 2010, America exported some $8.6b worth of kill people—I mean defend freedom stuff. Firearms accounts for a small but still significant amount of that total (if I told you I’d have to kill me).
When the United Nations looks at regulating the arms trade, it’s not just a bunch of duplicitous, sanctimonious, hypocritical, power-mad, dangerously deluded gun grabbers trying to figure out a way to disarm the world’s people, rendering them powerless in an effort to create world peace. Although God knows there’s plenty of those involved. You’ve also got NGOs on the scene. To wit:
NRA has been a recognized Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations since 1996. Our status as an NGO allows us to closely monitor the internal UN debate over firearm issues and report back to our members. Our NGO status also allowed NRA to take an active role in thwarting the absurdly titled “UN Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects” in 2006, and the previous meeting, the “UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons” in the summer of 2001.
Notice that the NRA doesn’t mention the document in play: The Small Arms Treaty. That’s because it doesn’t have anything to do with restricting small arms sales within the United States. As far as we know, it’s strictly an end-user certification deal, wherein the rest of the world agrees (or not) to follow the same sales monitoring protocol that We The People use.
Which doesn’t do much of anything, I might add, given that we’ve been supplying Mexican drug cartels with weapons through official military and law enforcement sales for well over a decade. Anyway, your friends at The Freedom Group, Colt Industries, ArmaLite, etc. are also in the NGO biz, quietly enough, looking at the Small Arms Treaty to look out for their interests. Which are your interests as well.
Truth be told, there’s no way on God’s green earth these well-funded, powerful lobbyists are going to let the U.N. stop American civilians from buying and owning guns, or force them to register their weapons with the “world” government. For one thing, the U.S. firearms industry NGOs are, believe it or not, patriots. For another, that would be very, very bad for business.
2. The U.N. Small Arms Treaty has to be Ratified by the United States Senate
And then signed by the President of the United States. On what planet must you live to believe that the Senate would pass a gun-grabbing U.N. treaty, or that the President would sign it? Planet paranoia.
If some Senator submitted a Small Arms Treaty mandating firearms registration leading (theoretically) to confiscation there would be a political shit storm of epic proportions. While the result would fill the NRA’s coffers, it would terminate the careers of any pol stupid enough to sign on who has five or more gun owners in his patch.
And if that bogus Treaty was passed, it would be cold dead hands time for American gun owners. Chicago recently passed a law requiring gun owners to register their gats, under penalty of law. Guess how that turned out.
In short, chill. If you want to see what the Small Arms Treaty could do to mess you up, click here for Senator Moran’s letter to Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama. If you can’t be bothered, renew your NRA membership. They’re hardly perfect, but they are good at what they do. Which they do for you.