Trump's misguided assault on the Arms Trade Treaty
During a speech to the National Rifle Association in April, Donald Trump announced that he will “unsign” the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty and ask the Senate to halt the ratification process. Though Trump and other critics argue that the treaty threatens Second Amendment freedoms and poses undue limits on American sovereignty, these claims are misguided at best.
In fact, not only doesn’t the Arms Trade Treaty threaten gun rights in America, it strengthens global efforts to reduce the damage done by the illicit flow of conventional weapons. Instead of rejecting the treaty, the United States should be promoting it.
In force internationally since 2014 but not yet ratified by the United States, The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) attempts to regulate trade of conventional weapons (everything from small arms to battle tanks and warships) by raising the standards for arms exports to ensure weapons are sold only to responsible state parties. The goal is to encourage states to assess the risks before making any sales and to keep weapons off the black market, out of the hands of criminals and terrorists, and to make sure that transferred weapons don’t wind up contributing to genocide, war crimes, or other serious violations of humanitarian law.
The most misleading argument from the treaty’s critics regards the Second Amendment. Critics like the NRA have falsely argued that the treaty will require governments to collect information on individuals who purchase weapons from abroad and to report that information to the exporting country on demand. Beyond that, critics also worry that even if the treaty doesn’t do so now, proponents of stricter regulations could eventually amend the treaty so that it does, thereby restricting American sovereignty. This concern, too, is unfounded.
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/442283-trumps-misguided-assault-on-the-arms-trade-treaty
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