Trump Signs Doc Pulling US from Obama-Era UN Guns Treaty in Front of NRA Crowd
President Donald Trump told the attendees at the National Rifle Association’s annual gathering in Indianapolis on Friday that he is “taking our signature back” from a United Nations guns treaty that former President Barack Obama signed.
Trump recounted to the thousands on hand at the Indianapolis Convention Center that Obama had sent the UN Arms Trade Treaty to the Senate for the ratification process during his “waning days in office.”
The 45th president argued the treaty threatened Americans’ Second Amendment rights.
“Under my administration we will never surrender American sovereignty to anyone,” Trump said. “We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedom.”
President Trump signs order to stop U.N. Arms Trade Treaty Ratification Process: “Under my administration we will never surrender American sovereignty to anyone. We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedom.” pic.twitter.com/6TvJryoO00
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 26, 2019
“I’m officially announcing today the United States will be revoking the effect of America’s signature from this badly misguided treaty. We’re taking our signature back,” the president added, which brought cheers from the NRA crowd.
“By taking these actions, we are reaffirming that America’s liberty is sacred and that American citizens live by American laws, not the laws of foreign countries,” Trump said.
He then signed a document asking the Senate not to go forward with ratification and to return the treaty to him at the Oval Office, “where I will dispose of it,” the chief executive said.
Trump then tossed the pen he used into the crowd.
According to The Washington Post, “The origins of the treaty, which sets out international rules for sales and transfers of everything from small arms to large planes and ships, date to the George W. Bush administration.”
“It was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations and signed in 2013 under President Barack Obama but has never been ratified by U.S. lawmakers.”
Reuters reported Obama entered into the treaty in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting in December 2012.
Then-NRA president David Keene opposed the agreement, saying, “We do not see anything in terms of the language and the preamble as being any kind of guarantee of the American people’s rights under the Second Amendment.”
“Keene said the pact could require the U.S. government to enact legislation to implement it, which the NRA fears could lead to tighter restrictions on gun ownership,” according to Reuters.
He predicted the treaty would not garner the two-thirds majority needed for ratification, which likely explains why Obama waited to submit it to the Senate.
Thomas Countryman, a former State Department official who served as lead negotiator for the treaty under Obama, told The Washington Post that the treaty would not have required changes to U.S. laws or rules regarding guns.
“A decision to ‘un-sign’ the Arms Trade Treaty would be yet another mistaken step by the Trump administration that threatens to make the world less safe, rather than more secure,” he said in a statement.
“It is sad, but to be expected, that this president opposes efforts to require other countries to meet the high standards of U.S. military export decisions.”
NEWS: President Trump sends a request to the Senate to stop the treaty ratification process for the UN Arms Trade Treaty during his speech at @NRA annual meetings pic.twitter.com/c3CaolFI1i
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 26, 2019
The NRA celebrated Trump’s announcement with a series of tweets, saying that former Secretary of State John Kerry entered into the treaty “despite its threat to our national sovereignty and Second Amendment.”
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