Gun Week: Firearm Owners Face Harsh New UN Treaty Fight

A hard-hitting story by Executive Editor Joseph Tartaro in the pages of the most recent edition of Gun Week newspaper details the latest battle being waged inside the United Nations over every American's right to own a firearm.

Tartaro writes that Britain, Japan, Australia and others are pushing for an unprecedented treaty regulating the arms trade worldwide, in a campaign sure to last years and to pit them against a determined foe: American gunowners, shooters organizations worldwide, and, at present, the United States government. Here is a portion of Tartaro's story.

"The Associated Press (AP) noted at the end of September, that in what United Nations (UN) officials say is an “overwhelming” response, almost 100 governments have submitted ideas for such a treaty, to be reviewed over the next year. There’s an “extremely urgent” need for controls on the international gun trade, says Kenya, echoing the sentiment in much of guns-besieged Africa. But in the US, according to Associated Press, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other firearms civil rights groups say they see a creeping attempt to limit civilian gun ownership within nations—even though the focus now is on setting standards for arms exports and imports.

"The UN’s First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), in an organizational meeting on Oct. 8, adopted its program of work and agenda for the 62nd session of the General Assembly. The work program is split into three phases, with the first phase, from Oct. 8-16, being a general debate on all disarmament and international security agenda items. The second phase, from Oct, 17-26, will be thematic discussions on all items, along with the introduction and consideration of draft resolutions and decisions. The final phase, lasting from Oct. 29-Nov. 2, will involve action on all draft texts."

"Just before the First Committee began its meeting, leaders of the World Forum on the Future of Shooting Sports Activities (WFSA) held a strategy meeting in Italy regarding the new global gun control effort. Earlier, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon moved to revitalize the international disarmament agenda and the UN effectiveness in that area through the creation of a new Office for Disarmament Affairs and the appointment of Sergio Duarte as High Representative to lead it. That disarmament agenda covers everything from nuclear missiles to small arms including rifles and shotguns and pistols. He and others in the international community are pointed toward a binding treaty on regulating and policing global traffic in small arms by the year 2010.

"The international issues 'necessarily will come to involve at some point domestic laws and policies regarding firearms,' said former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA), a leading NRA voice on the subject, according to AP. The NRA and other US gun lobbyists have helped blunt earlier efforts at the UN to rein in the weapons trade. Last December, the US delegation appointed by the Bush Administration cast the lone negative vote when 153 nations approved a General Assembly resolution initiating this new treaty process. If the November 2008 presidential election produce a new administration disposed to support the UN treaty, gunowners may find themselves struggling to retain their firearms civil rights."

To read the rest of this disturbing story from Joe Tartaro at Gun Week, go to: http://www.gunweek.com/. Thanks, Joe, for staying on top of this issue!