The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

UN’s Push for Arms Trade Treaty Could Affect American Gun Ownership

January 21, 2010

ESPNOutdoors.com - In the parallel world where the likes of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi live, the enlightened govern the ignorant masses by applying one set of universal rules, and it's not the Constitution of the United States.

In Hillary's world, radical ideas progress at first with baby steps that ultimately become great strides to harness the destructive forces in society. That's why the current Secretary of State and the other Hillarys in her world are drawing a bead on gun owners, mainly those in the United States.

Steve Sanneti, president and CEO of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, says "anti-hunters will do or say anything to curtail hunting, and they'll settle for winning small battles and advancing their cause in incremental stages."

In 2012, the United Nation's will push for the Arms Trade Treaty, which, among other things, will establish goals regarding the ownership and disposition of firearms on a global basis. This new world order is apt to take various forms, but none of them are likely to be good for gun owners in this country.

The Arms Trade Treaty, along with attempts to reconstitute the so-called "assault weapons ban," and efforts to ban lead-based ammunition are among the biggest challenges facing the shooting sports industry in the coming years, according to Steve Sanneti, president and CEO of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

It's been a while since the ban on any firearm that looked remotely like an assault rifle was in effect. Thankfully, the public has become better educated about the firearms and the fact that just because they look like something that Rambo might wield, basically they do the same thing as any other rifle ...

As for the Arms Trade Treaty, Sanetti said he thinks it might pose the greatest danger if only because there are so many different permutations it could take, any of which could be disastrous to gun owners.

Sanneti is no stranger in Hillary's world, and as a former executive of the Ruger Arms Company, knows of the subtle ways that gun control advocates employ to advance their cause. Convince the general public that if all guns are banned, and nobody has them but governments, then there would be no more wars and no more crime. In effect, the Arms Trade Treaty is one of those baby steps in that direction.

"Essentially, the international community doesn't understand why Americans respect and protect their Second Amendment rights because in most countries no such rights exist," said Sanetti, who is presiding over the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) show. "

Of course, the Founders added the Second Amendment as one of the safeguards, and it's not something open for discussion as far as we're concerned.

"The current (Obama) administration has gone on record as saying it's time for this country to rejoin the community of nations and get more in line with various international goals. So, definitely, gun control is moving to the forefront, though not in such an-in-your-face, confrontational manner that we've seen before in this country. Gun control advocates go in one direction, try and fail, and then go in another direction. That's been the pattern."

Sanetti notes that prior to the current administration, UN delegates routinely gave such notions as international gun control a no-way, Jose response. However, recently Secretary Clinton has noted that the administration is not opposed, per se, to an Arms Trade Treaty that inhibits the manufacture and distribution of guns, but rather that the U.S. might go along with it if there is a consensus among the nations.

"Our salvation might be that 2012, which is when the UN will put the Arms Trade Treaty on the front burner, is an election year," Sanetti said. "We feel reasonably confident that this administration is not going to push the treaty or even avow any ownership, but there's no certainty of that. If the administration sidesteps the issue and there is no unanimity among nations, the treaty is probably dead, but we're definitely keeping an eye on developments there."

Eternal vigilance and all that, but it's the price to pay for living in the world next to Hillary's. The neighbors will do whatever they can to get rid of as many guns as possible, perhaps by curtailing the international flow of component materials that go into the manufacture of firearms and ammunition.

It's a long shot, but such ideas have merit in Hillary's world, where even little victories lead ever closer to the big prize: no guns, just government.

FBI Flyer Worries Gun Store Owners

January 22, 2010

40/29 TV (Rogers, Ark.) - A flyer appearing to be from the FBI has been turning up at local gun and ammo shops, instructing employees there how to identify suspected terrorists, but some store owners say its regulations might affect more than just enemies of the state.

It instructs store owners to look out for certain customer characteristics, like insisting on paying with cash only, or purchasing large quantities of ammunition or other gun accessories.

Store owners are also supposed to look for people with missing hand or fingers, chemical burns, or stains on their clothing.

But this disturbs Jim Snow, owner of Rebel Arms and Sporting Goods in Nob Hill.

“Generally this thing is my customer base, generally the customer base of all your gun shops,” he said.

Snow said the form's definition of a terrorist is debatable.

“That's generally what a gun owner is. He's buying a bipod for his rifle, he's buying handgun ammunition, and he wants a container to keep it safe in,” Snow said.

Snow said he isn't comfortable using the form’s criteria to profile people in his shop, especially when many are longtime customers.

“They're wanting kids to turn their parents in, they're wanting parents to turn his kids in,” Snow said.

Ron Garratt from G.I. Guns and Ammo in Rogers doesn't see the point of the flyer.

“I think that's probably little bit of overkill,” Garratt said.

Garratt said all potential gun buyers are subject to background checks by the F.B.I. already.

“That form gives up their basic information, name address, date of birth, description and so forth,” Garratt said.

The FBI has the right to deny a sale if the background check doesn't add up.

Even with regulations, gun store owners 40/29 talked with said they'll always be careful about who they sell to. They also said they do sometimes have problems with customers trying to make "straw sales:" people trying to buy a firearm for someone else who cannot legally own one.

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