Obama Pushing Treaty To Ban Reloading
-- Even BB guns could be on the chopping block
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Remember CANDIDATE Barack Obama? The guy who "wasn"t going to take
away our guns"?
Well, guess what?
Less than 100 days into his administration, he"s never met a gun he
didn"t hate.
A week ago, Obama went to Mexico, whined about the United States, and
bemoaned (before the whole world) the fact that he didn"t have the
political power to take away our semi-automatics. Nevertheless, that
didn"t keep him from pushing additional restrictions on American gun
owners.
It"s called the Inter-American Convention Against Illicit
Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives,
and Other Related Materials. To be sure, this imponderable title
masks a really nasty piece of work.
First of all, when the treaty purports to ban the "illicit"
manufacture of firearms, what does that mean?
1. "Illicit manufacturing" of firearms is defined as "assembly of
firearms [or] ammunition ... without a license...."
Hence, reloading ammunition -- or putting together a lawful firearm
from a kit -- is clearly "illicit manufacturing."
Modifying a firearm in any way would surely be "illicit
manufacturing." And, while it would be a stretch, assembling a
firearm after cleaning it could, in any plain reading of the words,
come within the screwy definition of "illicit manufacturing."
2. "Firearm" has a similarly questionable definition.
"[A]ny other weapon" is a "firearm," according to the treaty --
and
the term "weapon" is nowhere defined.
So, is a BB gun a "firearm"? Probably.
A toy gun? Possibly.
A pistol grip or firing pin? Probably. And who knows what else.
If these provisions (and others) become the law of the land, the Obama
administration could have a heyday in enforcing them. Consider some
of the other provisions in the treaty:
* Banning reloading. In Article IV of the treaty, countries commit to
adopting "necessary legislative or other measures" to criminalize
illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms.
Remember that "illicit manufacturing" includes reloading and
modifying
or assembling a firearm in any way. This would mean that the Obama
administration could promulgate regulations banning reloading on the
basis of this treaty -- just as it is currently circumventing Congress
to write legislation taxing greenhouse gases.
* Banning gun clubs. Article IV goes on to state that the criminalized
acts should include "association or conspiracy" in connection with
said offenses -- which is arguably a term broad enough to allow, by
regulation, the criminalization of entire pro-gun organizations or gun
clubs, based on the facilities which they provide their membership.
* Extraditing US gun dealers. Article V requires each party to "adopt
such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over
the offenses it has established in accordance with this Convention"
under a variety of circumstances.
We know that Mexico is blaming U.S. gun dealers for the fact that its
streets are flowing with blood. And we know it is possible for Mexico
to define offenses "committed in its territory" in a very broad
way.
And we know that we have an extradition obligation under Article XIX
of the proposed treaty. So we know that Mexico could try to use the
treaty to demand to extradition of American gun dealers.
Under Article XXIX, if Mexico demands the extradition of a lawful
American gun dealer, the U.S. would be required to resolve the dispute
through "other means of peaceful settlement."
Does anyone want to risk twenty years in a sweltering Mexican jail on
the proposition that the Obama administration would apply this
provision in a pro-gun manner?
* Microstamping. Article VI requires "appropriate markings" on
firearms. And, it is not inconceivable that this provision could be
used to require microstamping of firearms and/or ammunition -- a
requirement which is clearly intended to impose specifications which
are not technologically possible or which are possible only at a
prohibitively expensive cost.
* Gun registration. Article XI requires the maintenance of any
records, for a "reasonable time," that the government determines to
be
necessary to trace firearms. This provision would almost certainly
repeal portions of McClure-Volkmer and could arguably be used to
require a national registry or database.
ACTION: Write your Senators and urge them to oppose the Inter-American
Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in
Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials.
Please use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center to send your
Senators the pre-written e-mail message below.
----- Pre-written letter -----
Dear Senator:
I am urging you, in the strongest terms, to oppose the Inter-American
Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in
Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials.
This anti-gun treaty was written by international bureaucrats who are
either stupid or virulently anti-gun -- or both.
This treaty could very well ban the ability to reload ammunition, to
put new stocks on rifles lawfully owned by American citizens, and,
possibly, even ban BB guns!
There are too many problems with this treaty to mention them all in
this letter. The rest can be read on the website of Gun Owners of
America at:
http://www.gunowners.org/fs0901.htm
Please do not tell me the treaty has not yet been abused in this way
by the bevy of Third World countries which have signed it. We do not
expect the real ramifications of the treaty to become clear until the
big prize -- the U.S. -- has stepped into the trap.
For all of these reasons, I must insist that you oppose ratification
of the treaty.
Sincerely,
Obama Pushing Treaty To Ban Reloading -- Even BB guns
