Archive for March, 2012

PHILIPPINES: Stricter gun control measures ordered

Monday, March 26th, 2012

March 26, 2012

Written by: Alfred Dalizon

Original Story VIA:  Philippine Journal Online

MAMANG PULIS — PHILIPPINE National Police chief Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome has ordered the implementation of stricter gun control measures aimed at reducing by 10 percent gun-related crimes and reducing by 3.38 percent the number of loose firearms in the country.

He tasked the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management to spearhead the massive nationwide gun control campaign aimed also at accounting for loose firearms and tens of thousands of licensed guns whose owners have failed to renew their registration over the years.

Bartolome also directed all 17 police regional directors and the different PNP national operational support units to go after loose firearm holders in their jurisdiction to arrest increasing number of criminal incidents involving the use of firearms, mostly loose weapons.

The PNP Firearms and Explosives Office headed by Senior Superintendent Raul D. Petrasanta has been tasked to furnish police regional offices with complete list of delinquent firearm holders for appropriate action.

The PNP operational plan called “Oplan Kontra Boga” includes home visits to gun owners with expired licenses in a bid to reduce by more than three percent the number of loose firearms in the country every month.

Gen. Bartolome instructed his men to conduct home visits to gun owners with expired licenses to either urge them to secure necessary documents or confiscate their firearms.

There are around 1.1 million loose firearms in the country, according to PNP estimates in 2009. The number is believed to have gone down drastically as the PNP launched its first massive anti-weapons campaign before the 2010 elections won by President Benigno Aquino III.

Gen. Bartolome said the proposal to visit the homes of persons with delinquent firearm licenses was approved during the first national summit on firearms control held in Camp Crame in 2009.

The PNP chief said that police operations against unregistered firearms would include dragnet operations in crime-prone areas, mobile checkpoints and choke points, intelligence build-up, application of search warrants and the dismantling of private armed groups.

Bellevue’s CCRKBA works to stop U.N. Arms Trade Treaty

Friday, March 23rd, 2012
Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

Global gun control proponents are preparing to adopt an international arms trade treaty at the United Nations in July, but the Bellevue-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has been working busily behind the scenes to stop them.

CCRKBA is making no secret of the fact that its staff has been involved in the development of two pieces of legislation, HR 3594, introduced in the House of Representatives last Dec. 7 (Pearl Harbor Day, and the irony of this is not lost on anyone), and S. 2205, unveiled Wednesday.

The House measure is sponsored by Congressman Joe Walsh, a maverick Illinois Republican freshman who addressed last year’s Gun Rights Policy Conference in Chicago and had the audience ready to march on Washington. The Senate measure comes from Kansas Republican Jerry Moran, who had this to say:

Continue reading on Examiner.com Bellevue’s CCRKBA works to stop U.N. Arms Trade Treaty – Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/bellevue-s-ccrkba-works-to-stop-u-n-arms-trade-treaty#ixzz1pzT4b124

“The Second Amendment Sovereignty Act ensures that our country’s sovereignty and firearm freedoms will not be infringed upon by an international organization made up of many countries with little respect for gun rights. Our Second Amendment rights are not negotiable.”

CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb has devoted considerable time and energy working in the background to thwart this global gun control initiative. He was a powerhouse behind formation of the International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR) a couple of years ago. Both CCRKBA and its sister organization, the Second Amendment Foundation, were deeply involved in IAPCAR’s formation.

IAPCAR now includes gun rights groups from several nations, and recently made news when it called for Attorney General Eric Holder to step down over his continuous stonewalling on Operation Fast and Furious. This column discussed that development.

Gottlieb and his wife, Julianne, have spent much time at the United Nations on the global gun control issue, and traveling to meetings of international gun rights leaders. They see this initiative as a looming threat to Second Amendment sovereignty. When Moran introduced his legislation Wednesday, Gottlieb made this observation:

“With the U.N. poised to move on its proposed treaty this summer, it is important for Congress to fulfill its responsibility to protect our Constitutional rights, rather than allow them to be eroded by international political correctness.”

In December, after Walsh unveiled his measure – which would prohibit the expenditure of U.S. tax dollars on U.N. activities if those efforts in any way threaten the gun rights of American citizens – Gottlieb greeted that bill by noting:

“At a time when our constitutional freedoms are at stake, the only way to prevent their erosion by international treaty is to put in place the legislative mechanism to cut the U.N. off financially. We’re delighted that Walsh and nearly a dozen of his colleagues have the vision and intestinal fortitude to pursue that preventative measure. International gun grabbers need to keep their hands off of our Constitution, and out of our pockets.”

The good news is that CCRKBA and SAF, and IAPCAR, are not the only ones in this battle. The National Rifle Association has also been alerting its troops to the U.N.’s global gun control threat. Many gun rights activists are convinced that Fast and Furious was a component of the global gun control effort, though there has yet been no evidence directly linking the two.

Then, again, as Congressman Darrell Issa has repeatedly noted, the Justice Department has yet to deliver tens of thousands of documents requested by Issa’s House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is investigating Fast and Furious. This column refrains from engaging in “tinfoil hat” speculation about what may or may not be in those documents – and whether Fast and Furious could be part of some sinister global gun control plot. On the other hand, who would have guessed 15 months ago that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would have engaged in a gun walking effort that put some 2,000 guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels? Who would have thought the only reason that operation was hastily shut down was because two of those “walked” guns were recovered at the murder scene of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December 2010? Anyone remember one disgusted ATF whistleblower telling Issa’s committee last year that Fast and Furious was “the perfect storm of idiocy?”

Wednesday, while chatting with NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, he recalled traveling last year to the U.N. to speak.

“Talk about an out-of-body experience,” he said, with no small degree of sarcasm. “Standing there in front of all those ‘bastions of freedom’ like Syria and Iran and North Korea and Cuba and China, and understanding that they want to come into our country and infect our freedoms literally like a germ, and dumb our freedoms down to a lesser standard…that’s their intent.”

And he added this gem:

“What I told them in July when I testified…I looked them right in the eye and told them about American freedom, and that they had no authority to mess with it, no way, no how.”

There is a battle looming in July over global gun control and U.S. constitutional sovereignty, but expect very little attention from the national “mainstream” press. They’re not likely to report how the Obama administration warmed right up to the treaty concept back in 2009, after the previous administration (you know, the one that gets blamed for everything from current high gas prices to the sinking of the Titanic) consistently turned thumbs down on it.

It is too late, however, to sweep this one under the same rug as Fast and Furious. As Wyatt Earp allegedly stated to Ike Clanton after the shooting started in Tombstone on Oct. 26, 1881, “The fight’s commenced. Get to fighting or get away!”

In the gun rights community, that appears to be the sentiment.

While it may be a long shot for either piece of legislation to get any traction, that’s not going to discourage American gun owners. They are already fired up over this year’s national elections, and many see the current administration’s interest in international gun control as an example of things to come unless there is a sea change in November.

SEN. MORAN’S BILL TO PROTECT 2A FROM U.N. HAILED BY CCRKBA, IAPCAR

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

SEN. MORAN’S BILL TO PROTECT 2A FROM U.N. HAILED BY CCRKBA, IAPCAR

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

BELLEVUE, WA – Kansas Senator Jerry Moran’s newly-introduced legislation to protect Second Amendment rights from a proposed United Nations small arms treaty is an idea that needs to be passed quickly, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

Sen. Moran’s proposed Second Amendment Sovereignty Act, S. 2205, is similar to legislation introduced in the House by Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh in December. Like the Walsh bill, Sen. Moran’s measure would prohibit the Obama administration from attempting to influence Arms Trade Treaty negotiations that might restrict the Second Amendment rights of U.S. citizens.

“We’re delighted that Sen. Moran has unveiled this bill,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “With the U.N. poised to move on its proposed treaty this summer, it is important for Congress to fulfill its responsibility to protect our Constitutional rights, rather than allow them to be eroded by international political correctness.”

Like the Walsh bill, Sen. Moran’s legislation was developed with cooperation and assistance of CCRKBA staff, Gottlieb confirmed.

“In the fall of 2009,” he recalled, “the Obama administration reversed long-standing opposition to U.S. participation in Arms Trade Treaty negotiations. While this treaty purportedly will concentrate on conventional military weapons, including tanks and missiles, there remains a genuine threat that its scope could be expanded during negotiations to include civilian small arms and ammunition.

“Such a treaty could have a significant impact on hunters, target shooters and every other American citizen who exercises his or her Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” Gottlieb stated. “The Citizens Committee will be watching these negotiations under a microscope, and in the meantime, we will encourage our members and every gun owner to contact their two senators and urge them to support Sen. Moran’s legislation.”

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.

Obama and Holder Using ‘Fast and Furious’ for Gun Grab

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

International Association for the Protection of
Civilian Arms Rights

It is now official—

OVER ONE-FOURTH OF THE HOUSE WANTS ERIC HOLDER TO GO!

There are 120 U.S. House members who have signed, indicating they have either publicly insisted on Eric Holder’s resignation or have conveyed a NO CONFIDENCE in his job performance via a formal House resolution, or both.

Nearly ONE-HALF of the Republican caucus has also expressed the same outcome.  There are three United States Senators who have called for the Attorney General’s resignation:  Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and James Inhofe of Oklahoma.  Joining their ranks are two sitting governors who want Eric Holder GONE—Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rick Perry of Texas.

All major Republican candidates for president have also pushed for Holder’s resignation.

Yet, the beat goes on!

The stonewalling continues!

The liberal media continues not to report on Fast and Furious with any concern!

Barack Obama received a letter last June from 31 HOUSE DEMOCRATS asking him to order Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to comply with the congressional investigation and requests of documents having to do with the scandal.

Attorney General Eric Holder’s sixth Congressional appearance on the important matter last month again showed that the Attorney General LIED TO CONGRESS UNDER OATH!

Contempt of Congress and perjury charges should be filed!

Operation Fast and Furious was planned and executed to make the case for gun control laws by manufacturing an international gun running crisis as an excuse to pass Obama’s United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

This is an outrage!

Will you join us in calling for Eric Holder to resign and be prosecuted for these crimes?

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has subpoenaed 80,000 pages worth of documents from the Department of Justice.  Under Eric Holder’s direction, only 7,000 documents have been received by the committee.  LESS THAN 10%!  However, the DOJ’s “Inspector General” has received all the documents!

Yes, the nation’s highest law enforcement person is thumbing his nose at Congress!

Holder has not given any legal reason to withhold the documents!

Of course his “commander-in-chief,” Barack Obama, has “full confidence” in his top-rated minion.  This is sickening.

Murdered federal Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s family has waited for true justice.  In fact, they have had to file a lawsuit to try to get answers!

Will the Obama administration ever be accountable for this gross injustice?

Will Eric Holder ever offer a real apology to the Terry family, Mexico, and the American Public?

Will Eric Holder ever own up to the fact that Fast and Furious actually killed a lot of people and was his fault? 

According to The Daily Caller, “Allegations are now surfacing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata was also murdered with weapons the Obama administration allowed to ‘walk’ into the hands of drug cartel members.”

Patriotic Americans have literally “had enough.”  THE TIME IS NOW—ERIC HOLDER MUST GO AND THERE MUST BE A FULL INVESTIGATION!  While mainstream media seem to ignore this ongoing story, we want the whole truth…and nothing but the truth!

The Terry family especially deserves answers as to why their son had to die for this twisted game Obama and Holder are playing.

NO ONE should ever LIE under oath to the United States Congress—especially the number one law enforcement person in America!

This is a disgrace.

I only have one question to ask AG Eric Holder:  Sir, do you have any honor at all?

It has already been proven through Department of Justice emails that he knew about the murder of Agent Brian Terry MONTHS before he claimed to have any knowledge of the operation!  That is perjury.  He lied to the United States Congress.

Yet, in many cases, the people who have been lied to – our elected officials in Congress – THREE-FOURTHS are seemingly holding back from taking direct action to get to truth and justice!  That’s why your action so very important!

While Mr. Obama is busy apologizing to the Afghan people, what about the 300-plus deaths directly traced to the OBAMA/HOLDER Fast and Furious plan?  What about the nearly 2,000 who have been wounded thanks to Attorney General Eric Holder?

When will that apology come?

Rep. Darrell Issa believes: “(The Department of) Justice has blood on their hands.”  He also affirms that the Attorney General owes an apology to Mexico!

When will the Terry family personal apology occur?

You know, it really doesn’t have too much meaning when someone says on national television during a congressional committee meeting that “it was a shame.”

The bottom line:  Attorney General Eric Holder needs to be fired!

Monty Wilkinson, Eric Holder’s former deputy chief of staff, communicated to Dennis Burke, now-former Arizona U.S. Attorney General at 10:04 a.m., December 15, 2010: “I’ve alerted the AG (Holder)…” in reference to Agent Terry’s death!  Within 24 hours of the shooting of Agent Terry – 15 LONG MONTHS AGO – Eric Holder knew.  Yet, Holder testified it was sometime in the Spring of 2011.  Lies…lies…lies!

This disaster was not just “swept under the rug,” 90% of the documented evidence has been WITHHELD FROM OUR U.S. CONGRESS! 

Even Democrat Rep. John Dingell of Michigan is bewildered over this tragedy. As the Congressman for Agent Terry’s family he stated: “Operation Fast and Furious was grossly irresponsible.  Over the years, I have been a harsh critic of ATF.  It is clear in my mind that ‘gun-walking’ tactics are illogical and should never have been used.  I was outraged the day I learned about this behavior, and I am still outraged to this day.”

“The fact that a constituent of mine, Agent Brian Terry, was killed in the line of duty because of this gross negligence on behalf of ATF makes this situation even more serious.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) adds: “I find it very troubling that Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice have not been more forthcoming with information regarding this failed gun walking operation and at times seems to have contradicted what appears to be factual evidence.

“The Attorney General should provide more clarity on this issue to alleviate the concerns that are clouding over the Justice Department.  That is why I fully support the House Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary Committees’ continued investigations into this important issue.”

Quite frankly, we need Darrell Issa and other Congressman to “pull the trigger” and charge Eric Holder with “CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.”  Will you help to expose the Attorney General to those Congressmen who have not called for his resignation?!

The time for “bobbing and weaving” like a professional boxer by Eric Holder in front of the congressional oversight committee is OVER!

Americans want the truth!

This fast and furious sham could also play a key issue with voters in November. 

Eric Holder and Barack Obama must come clean on the entire matter.  But will they?  I doubt it!  The most ANTI-GUN President and Attorney General to ever hold those positions—will never admit to doing anything wrong.

NOW— here is the other “downside” of this entire infamous affair!

Here is the sinister motive of Barack Obama on utilizing Fast and Furious to HIS benefit…..

Obama and Holder will use their own failed Fast and Furious gun-walking operation—to push for INTERNATIONAL GUN CONTROL by the United Nations!  That’s right; they will use their own failed operation to say that guns need to be more controlled—even by the United Nations.  Barack Obama . . . Eric Holder . . . and the United Nations want to REGISTER your guns and eliminate YOUR Second Amendment right to own a gun.  Remember, this is YOUR freedom guaranteed by our own United States Constitution!

Don’t let lies and Holder’s attempted cover-up of Fast and Furious be used to TAKE AWAY your gun rights!

Mr. Obama needs to FIRE Eric Holder right now!  Or—

The Attorney General must RESIGN…NOW!

Will you please help us to finalize this grass-roots campaign to rid our nation of one who lies and tries to take away our freedom?

Eric Holder has committed several criminal acts!  The American people will not put up with lying to Congress.  “Contempt of Congress” must happen.  Better still, Eric Holder must resign!

Respectfully,

Philip Watson
Executive Director
International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights

P.S. Remember, it has already been proven that he KNEW about Fast and Furious way before he said he did; which means he lied to the American people—you and me!  Please insist to Congress that Eric Holder must resign!

THE STONEWALLING MUST CEASE…NOW!

 

 

Will The US Senate Ratify the UN Small Arms Treaty?

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Original Story VIA:  Right Side News

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

By J. D. Longstreet

I originally wrote about this threat in December of 2010. But with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having publicly stated that the Obama Administration will be working hand-in-glove with the UN to pass a new “Small Arms Treaty,”  American gun owners need to keep in mind that with the constraints of another election no longer facing Obama (should he win in November) the Obama Administration can press ahead at — flank speed — to ram this treaty through the US Senate.  If passed it will, for all intents and purposes, disarm American citizens … superseding the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.
We haven’t heard much about gun control lately, here in America, and I am beginning to believe that is by design. The Obama Administration does not want to awaken American gun owners — at least until AFTER THE ELECTION!The fact of the matter is this: The UN Small Arms Treaty amounts to global gun control.

It may surprise Americans to learn that our government is filled with lawmakers who endorse a one world government with the UN as the single governing agency for the globe.  They will most certainly support the UN’s Small Arms Treaty when it comes before the US Senate

As we noted above, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced the Obama Administration would be working hand in glove with the U.N. to pass the “Small Arms Treaty.”

It is expected that the Washington Gun-Grabbers will package the treaty as legislation to assist in the fight against “terrorism,” “insurgency” and “international crime syndicates.” But the truth is this: The U.N.’s Small Arms Treaty is nothing more than a massive, GLOBAL gun control scheme.

American organizations supporting the Second Amendment have warned that the U.N.’s Small Arms Treaty would almost certainly FORCE national governments to:make gun licensing requirements far tougher than they are now, which would force law-abiding citizens to have to trudge through even more bureaucratic red tape just to legally own a gun;

It would also give the UN the power to CONFISCATE and DESTROY ALL “unauthorized” civilian firearms.  Of course, all firearms owned by the government will be excluded.

The treaty would BAN the trade, sale, and private ownership of ALL semi-automatic weapons.

There will be an INTERNATIONAL gun registry created.  Once they know who has the guns — and where the guns are — we can expect full-scale gun CONFISCATION.

The citizen “unrest” in America today over the teetering economy and the socialist agenda by those in power in Washington, may make the ratification by the US Senate of this “treaty” seem far more palatable and even desirous by our current government.  And that is why we bring this warning to you. We must keep a wary eye on the goings-on in the national legislature.

In 2009, we issued a warning concerning the unceasing work of “gun-grabbers” in America. In that article we said the following: “So America edges ever closer to losing the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, quite possibly even the right to carry a knife. There can be no doubt that a knife, in the time of our forefathers, was, indeed, a weapon. It would, no doubt, fall into the category of “arms.” There can also be no doubt as to why the forefathers felt it important to place this amendment (the second amendment) in the constitution as a part of the original 10 amendments that made up the Bill of Rights. They had just fought a war against a tyrant to gain their freedom – and they did it with a citizen’s army composed of men who owned their own weapons!

George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States said the following: “A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.”

Thomas Jefferson said the following: “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

And finally, words from the most well known of the tyrants of the last century, Adolf Hitler: “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed the subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty.”

It is good, I think, to note that The Forefathers felt so highly of the right to keep and bear arms that it is the SECOND Amendment. The first being, of course, freedom of speech, religion, etc.  Please note that without the Second Amendment the First Amendment would effectively be null and void.

We must tread softly, yet boldly, as we attempt to protect our rights these days. America has two generations of citizens trained in socialism as products of the Public (Government) School System. Like “Pavlov’s Dog” they await only the ringing of the bell to respond in defense of the “greater good.” But, like the other dog, chasing it’s tail, they haven’t the reasoning ability to ask of themselves what they intend to do with the tail if, and when, they DO catch it?”

“The price of freedom is, indeed, eternal vigilance.” The Democratic Party has demonstrated their utter contempt for the concerns and wishes of the American citizen. Currently they continue to hold the reins of power in the US Senate and will, most likely, continue to do so after the November election. We cannot drop our guard, or divert our attention for one moment. If there is a way, anyway, (as we have learned the hard way) the democrats will try to sneak ratification of the UN Small Arms Treaty through the Senate with no regard for the opposition of American gun owners nor for those who insist the US Constitution still reigns supreme in America — NOT THE UN.

If the Obama Regime is returned to power in November — along with the liberal-socialists politicians that are, unfortunately, the Democratic Party these days — the constitutional rights of all Americans are in peril.

Conservatives must work harder than ever as we continue our endeavor to rid our nation’s leadership of those who support the United Nations and their goal of establishing a one world government, or global governance, under THE UN’s control.

We must not allow the UN Small Arms Treaty to be ratified by the US Senate… period!

J. D. Longstreet is a conservative Southern American (A native sandlapper and an adopted Tar Heel) with a deep passion for the history, heritage, and culture of the southern states of America. At the same time he is a deeply loyal American believing strongly in “America First”.· He is a thirty-year veteran of the broadcasting business, as an “in the field” and “on-air” news reporter (contributing to radio, TV, and newspapers) and a conservative broadcast commentator.

Longstreet is a veteran of the US Army and US Army Reserve. He is a member of the American Legion and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.· A lifelong Christian, Longstreet subscribes to “old Lutheranism” to express and exercise his faith.

Articles by J.D. Longstreet are posted at: “INSIGHT on Freedom“,· “Hurricane Alley… by Longstreet”,· “The Carolina Post” and numerous other conservative websites around the web.·

VIDEO: Arms Trade Treaty – The Hell With Congress

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Original Story VIA:  AMMOLAND

Manasquan, NJ –-(Ammoland.com)- There is a widespread misunderstanding on the part of American gun-owners, evidenced in gun blogs and in commentaries on articles dealing with the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

The crux of this misunderstanding is that, since there are checks and balances in our Constitution, and since the Constitution clearly states that ratification of a treaty can only occur “provided two thirds of the Senators present concur,” this is almost impossible to come about.

Therefore, we will never be subjected to the constraints of, and penalties for, violations of an Arms Trade Treaty.

Most of those who voice this sentiment do so vehemently, and with all certainty that this is fact, rather than merely conjecture.

What they refuse to acknowledge is that when it comes to words —even those in our sacred blueprint for a representative government, the Constitution— nothing is actually all black and white; when it comes to words —especially words that were penned more than 2 centuries earlier when the world was very different— it will almost always be possible to find grey areas that can be breached to achieve a desired political goal.

The fact is that our Constitution does not protect us against the growing customary international law or the growing norm of global civilian disarmament.

There are many references in the literature which address this situation. We will cite only two: “The Second Amendment and Global Gun Control,” by Joseph Bruce Alonso (Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, Vol. 15), and “The Human Right of Self-Defense” by David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen (Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law, Vol 22, Number 1).

These two papers provide carefully documented proof that ratification of an international treaty can occur —and can be made binding to U.S. citizens— without any Senate action at all!

But this is not simply our opinion. The hyperlinks below are provided for convenience, so that any reader can judge for him- or herself as to the veracity of this thesis as part of current international law.

Alonso notes that “There are a variety of ways that these [international] gun control laws could affect the rights and obligations of parties within the United States.”

He enumerates some of the mechanisms which might come into play to effect such a scenario:

  • “The first way is the possibility that the President of the United States signs…[a treaty]. Signature by a United States President would indicate to the international community that the United States intends to abide by the gun control laws, with or without ratification by the Senate.”
  • “A second way these gun control laws could affect United States parties is in the event that gun control becomes a customary international law. Even if the United States did not sign on to either treaty, if the United States began to abide by the treaties, the United States may, in effect, be consenting to the treaties becoming customary international law. In the eyes of an international court, the United States, by following the treaties, is consenting to be bound by the treaties in the future. To avoid accidental consent, the United States should expressly state that as a nation, the United States does not consent to the gun control treaties and that any activity consistent with the treaties is not intended to recognize the treaties’ legal status. If the United States does not make such an express statement to the international community, the United States might, arguably, be expected to maintain any and all gun control measures that the treaties require.”
  • “A third way the gun control measures could affect United States parties is through nonconsensual customary law. Nonconsensual customary international law may arise as a result of international practice. This international practice may be evidenced by events not approved by the United States but eventually held binding on the United States….In many ways, the international community is in agreement on gun control, with the exception being the United States. The respect and adherence by numerous countries to strict gun control adds weight to the notion that a common understanding of how sovereign states must deal with private gun ownership can be established with or without every country’s consent.”

Not only are there grey areas in the treaty ratification process, but they are also present in the ways in which our country can be dragged into war.

According to the U.S. Constitution, Section 8, “The Congress shall have Power To….declare War….” However, in the course of our research, we spotted an item printed in the March 8, 2012 edition of the Canada Free Press. An article entitled Obama Admin Cites Int’l Permission, Not Congress, as ‘Legal Basis’ For Action in Syria stated: “Under question from Sen. Sessions at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey indicated that ‘international permission,’ rather than Congressional approval, provided a ‘legal basis’ for military action by the United States.”

The video above includes the interview, and the replies from Panetta and Dempsey to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), are nothing short of mind-boggling to hear! In response to Panetta and Dempsey concerning the issue of Congressional approval, Sen. Sessions replied incredulously: “Well, I’m almost breathless about that. Because what I heard you say was we’re going to seek international approval, and you will come and tell the Congress what we might do….”

The fact is that the U.S. Constitution was written two centuries ago, and we live in a very different world. Times change, and there are many things that our Founding Fathers never anticipated when they wrote the Constitution onto parchment with quill and ink. It is obviously now possible to be forced into a war without the approval of Congress.

And it is also now possible to be forced to abide by the terms of a treaty —like the ATT— without Congressional approval.

According to Kopel, Gallant & Eisen (p. 54-55):

“Having been selected as Special Rapporteur by the old Human Rights Commission, [Barbara] Frey delivered her final report to the new Human Rights Council on July 27, 2006. On August 24, 2006, the UN Human Rights Council’s subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights endorsed the Frey report, and announced that all national governments were required by international human rights law to implement various listed gun control provisions; the subcommission recommended that the full Human Rights Council also adopt the report and issue a similar mandate. Of course the subcommission has little power to enforce its wishes directly, but the declaration gives national government officials, including courts, considerable support to promote restrictive gun laws which are, according to the UN, mandated by international law. The full Human Rights Council is scheduled to take up the issue, and indications at the time of this writing suggest that the full Council will ratify most or all of Frey’s report. The Chairman of the full Human Rights Council has already announced his enthusiastic support for the Frey Report, the subcommission’s adoption of the report, and the prospect of using the Human Rights Council to advance a worldwide gun control mandate. The Frey Report, then, is not simply a scholarly paper that will be filed away in a United Nations library. It is an effort to establish a new norm of international human rights law, and this effort to establish the new norm is supported by the United Nations Human Rights Council, as one aspect of the UN’s far-ranging support for restrictive and confiscatory firearms policies (emphasis ours).”

The Frey report should be required reading for all Americans – gun-owner and non-gun-owner alike, for there is every likelihood that the ATT, in some form, will be enacted! And her report—which represents the UN’s view and the new world “norm,” is one of the scariest documents one can find to describe what our America would look like if the ATT proponents have their way!

The UN has been able to twist the individual human right of self-defense into a human rights abuse against a perpetrator. In the words of Barbara Frey:

“Self-defence is sometimes designated as a ‘right’. There is inadequate legal support for such an interpretation. Self-defence is more properly characterized as a means of protecting the right to life and, as such, a basis for avoiding responsibility for violating the rights of another. No international human right of self-defence is expressly set forth in the primary sources of international law: treaties, customary law, or general principles.”

So much for our Constitution and its Bill of Rights!

About the authors:
Dr. Paul Gallant and Dr. Joanne D. Eisen practice optometry and dentistry, respectively, on Long Island, NY, and have collaborated on firearm politics for the past 20 years. They have also collaborated with David B. Kopel since 2000, and are Senior Fellows at the Independence Institute, where Kopel is Research Director. Most recently, Gallant and Eisen have also written with Alan J. Chwick. Sherry Gallant has been instrumental in the editing of virtually all of the authors’ writings, and is immensely knowledgeable in the area of firearm politics; she actively co-authored this article.

Almost all of the co-authored writings of Gallant, Eisen, Kopel and Chwick can be found at http://gallanteisen.incnf.org/, which contains more detailed information about their biographies and writing, and contains hyperlinks to many of their articles. Their recent series focusing on the Arms Trade Treaty can be found primarily athttp://gwg.incnf.org/ . Respective E-Mail addresses are: PaulGallant2A@cs.com, JoanneDEisen@cs.com, AJChwick@iNCNF.org, Sherry.Gallant@gmail.com

Read more at Ammoland.com: http://www.ammoland.com/2012/03/12/arms-trade-treaty-the-hell-with-congress/#ixzz1p70KN2pm