UN Arms Treaty Stalls On US Objections

Fox News

U.N. member states have failed to reach agreement on a new treaty to regulate  the multibillion-dollar global arms trade.

Some diplomats and treaty supporters blamed the United States for triggering  the unraveling of the month-long negotiating conference.

Hopes had been raised that agreement could be reached on a revised treaty  text that closed some key loopholes by Friday’s deadline for action. But the  United States announced Friday morning that it needed more time to consider the  proposed treaty — and Russia and China then also asked for more time.

A bipartisan group of 51 U.S. senators on Thursday had threatened to oppose  the global treaty regulating international weapons trade if it falls short in  protecting the constitutional right to bear arms.

In a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the  senators expressed serious concerns with the draft treaty that has circulated at  the United Nations, saying that it signals an expansion of gun control that  would be unacceptable.

The Constitution’s Second Amendment offers broad protection for weapons  ownership by civilians. As recently as 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed it when  it struck down a ban on handguns in the District of Columbia, ruling that  individuals have a constitutional right to keep guns for self-defense and other  purposes.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/27/un-fails-to-reach-deal-on-global-arms-trade-treaty-as-us-asks-for-more-time/?test=latestnews#ixzz220APFUZp


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