Fairfax, Va. – Today, four members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and the United Nations with the clear message that the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty will not be ratified. Earlier this year, the U.N. adopted and President Obama directed Secretary Kerry to sign this treaty, which does not exclude civilian arms from its scope and therefore directly threatens the Second Amendment.
“This letter sends a clear message to President Obama and Secretary Kerry that the Arms Trade Treaty will not receive the 67 votes in the U.S. Senate necessary for ratification,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “On behalf of our 5 million members, the NRA would like to thank those who signed this letter for their principled stand in defending the Second Amendment freedoms of all law-abiding Americans against this attempt by the U.N. to undermine American sovereignty.”
Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Max Baucus (D-MT), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) sent a letter to President Barack Obama saying, “because of unaddressed concerns that this Treaty’s obligations could undermine our nation’s sovereignty and the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans, we would oppose the Treaty if it were to come before the U.S. Senate.”
This joins the bipartisan effort of 50 fellow Senators and 181 members of the U.S. House who sent letters to the President stating their opposition to the ATT earlier this month.
-NRA-
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. More than four million members strong, NRA continues to uphold the Second Amendment and advocates enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the armed services. Be sure to follow the NRA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NationalRifleAssociation and on Twitter @NRA.