He's gonna get your guns or stop you from shooting

[coues7]

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 at

http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm 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,

 

[ghost hunter]

I for one, am not the least bit surprised to see that Obama told everyone "just what they wanted to hear" and then turned around and did what he wanted. Hope those who didn't listen the first time pay attention now.

[az4life]

Obama is an unqualified hack of a Politician but he did not elect himself.

 

He was elected by a bunch of mindless lemmings that would rather take welfare than work.

Those that believe what propoganda is passed off as "news" in sound bytes without questioning.

 

Socialism is just around the corner folks. Fact is, compared to 40 years ago, it is already here.

 

Now, We All Pay for these idiots voting for what they thought was their easy way out