US Abandons Requirement For Consensus On Arms Trade Treaty

 

No Lawyers - Only Guns and Money

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• US Abandons Requirement For Consensus On Arms Trade Treaty
• No More Nanny? No More Mumbles?
• United Network Of Rational Americans? Huh?
• A Bit Of History
• A Hearty Cheer For Sean!
• About That .323 Caliber Rifle

US Abandons Requirement For Consensus On Arms Trade Treaty Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:28 PM PDT Late this afternoon, the US delegation to the United Nation's Arms Trade Treaty talks said that the US would vote "yes" on the Arms Trade Treaty regardless of whether other countries do so. In the past, the US had insisted on a consensus for this treaty. The National Sports Shooting Foundation issued an immediate response taking issue with the US position. NSSF Objects to U.S. Government Abandoning Position that U.N. Treaty Must be based on International "Consensus" NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation today strongly objected to the last-minute reversal of the U.S. government position regarding the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty. In the closing hours of negotiations on Thursday, March 28, the government abandoned its previous insistence that the treaty be approved only through achieving “consensus” of all the member states. Requiring consensus had been the United States position going back to earlier administrations. At the end of the session, a U.S. government spokesperson told reporters “It's important to the United States and the defense of our interests to insist on consensus. But every state in this process has always been conscious of the fact that if consensus is not reached in this process, that there are other ways to adopt this treaty, including via a vote of the General Assembly.” The spokesperson went on to say that the United States would vote “yes” on the treaty in the General Assembly, regardless of the positions of other member states. By abandoning the requirement for consensus the United States is assuring passage of the treaty by the United Nations. “This abrupt about-face on the long-standing United States requirement for ‘consensus’ illustrates that the Obama Administration wants a sweeping U.N. arms control treaty,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “We are troubled by the timing of the Obama Administration’s decision to abandon consensus on the eve of the Senate debate on pending gun control measures. The United Nations treaty would have a broad impact on the U.S. firearms industry and its base of consumers in the U.S.” Industry analysts have identified three major areas of concern with the treaty text. The treaty clearly covers trade in civilian firearms, not just military arms and equipment. It will have a major impact on the importation of firearms to the United States, which is a substantial source for the consumer market. And it will impose new regulations on the “transit” of firearms, the term defined so broadly that it would cover all everything from container ships stopping at ports to individuals who are traveling internationally with a single firearm for hunting or other sporting purposes. “We hope that the Members of the U.S. Senate are closely watching the White House abandon its principles and promises in the rush to ramrod this flawed treaty into effect. Not only will they later be asked to ratify this attack on our constitution and sovereignty, but they will also be lavished with new promises from the administration in its drive to push a broad gun control agenda through the U.S. Senate when it returns from recess. They would be right to question those promises strongly,” concluded Keane.    Subscribe in a reader

No More Nanny? No More Mumbles? Posted: 29 Mar 2013 04:11 PM PDT What in the world is Mayors Against Illegal Guns going to do next year? Their more well-known co-chair, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is term limited and can't run again for mayor of New York City. Meanwhile, his erstwhile co-chairman, Mayor Thomas "Mumbles" Menino, announced yesterday he won't be running for a sixth term. Given that the whole organization runs on Bloomberg's money, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Bloomberg some sort of honorary title like Chairman Emeritus and let him continue to run the organization behind the scenes. As to Mumbles, unlike many of his other mayors, at least he won't be spending his retirement in prison.  Subscribe in a reader

United Network Of Rational Americans? Huh? Posted: 29 Mar 2013 01:12 PM PDT A new group pushing gun control and background checks has emerged on the scene. Calling themselves United Network of Rational Americans, they have just released a gun control video. The video quotes the late Ronald Reagan from 1991 as saying that if there had been background checks in 1981 then he and Jim Brady would never have been shot. Ignoring President Reagan's statement and his later signature on a letter supporting the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban which one of his own sons has attributed to the onset of Alzheimer's disease, just who the heck is United Network for Rational Americans? It appears to be the invention of Scott Crider of Watchdog Causes LLC. Located in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Watchdog Causes calls themselves a "a progressive-leaning social media & online/interactive marketing consultancy." They are the ones responsible for inventing and promoting the Dogs Against Romney campaign which did draw a good bit of media attention. About the ad, Crider is quoted in US News and World Report saying: "We need to convince Republicans in Washington. Reagan lived by the Grace of God, not because he had armed security. And he lived to tell Republicans in Washington today to use your brains, use your hearts, and have enough guts to do what's right," says Scott Crider, the creator of UNRA. "Instead of being selfish and worrying that the NRA will give you a primary opponent in your next election, worry about that next child that will get murdered by a madman with a gun if you don't do your job." From his resume, Crider states he is a 1987 graduate in communications from Ouachita Baptist University and independent social media and interactive marketing consultant. An award-winning digital marketer and social media strategist with real-world accomplishments and quantifiable results, Scott Crider has 25- years of experience as a marketing executive. A digital marketing leader and innovator for more than 15-years, Crider drives the strategy and execution of digital marketing programs that leverage viral opportunities in social media and related applications. With a proven track record of identifying high-impact opportunities and innovative strategies for clients and brands, Crider focuses on application strategy and technology integration within the social media space. Beyond a Facebook page and a website, there doesn't seem to be much to UN-RA. Despite The Hill calling them a "pro-gun-control group", there doesn't seem to be much group there. Their Facebook page was put up on March 6th and their webpage only has its first posting on March 19th where they are pushing bumper stickers and magnets. In UN-RA's "about page", they say: The UNRA (United Network of Rational Americans) is composed of people and groups who support the 2nd Amendment and honor America’s history of responsible gun ownership. Many UNRA members own guns, store them and use them responsibly, undergo training to learn to defend themselves and their families, and participate in hunting and shooting sports. Given their sparse background and their recent creation, it would be interesting to know just where the money is coming from for the video and webpage that seems to be targeting Republican politicians. Is it coming from Mr. Crider's own pocket or is it being funneled to him groups like Obama' Organizing for America or Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors? I doubt we will ever really find out the answers to this question. In the meantime, we should keep monitoring this group if only because Mr. Crider has been successful in garnering media attention for lefty causes in the past.  Subscribe in a reader

A Bit Of History Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:15 AM PDT Old NFO has a very interesting post up about an abandoned airstrip located on the Pacific island of Tinian. What makes North Field and Runway Able of note is that it is where the instruments that ended WWII took off from. Those instruments were two B-29s - the Enola Gay and Bockscar - which carried "Little Boy" and "Fat Man". In other words, the planes that carried the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. My dad was in an Overseas Replacement Depot in Florida having returned from service with the Army in the Caribbean Defense Command. He could very well have been reassigned to Operation Downfall for the invasion of Japan. As it was, VJ Day was August 14th and my parents were married later that month. Read Old NFO's full account as it makes interesting reading for those interested in the history of WWII.  Subscribe in a reader

A Hearty Cheer For Sean! Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:35 AM PDT Sean Sorrentino of An NC Gun Blog made the news yesterday. He, in his own words, crashed a MAIG press conference held in Durham, North Carolina. I think when they saw Sean there they assumed he was one of them. After all, he is a younger looking guy with a ponytail. Oh, little did they know! Sean asked them about Sen. Harry Reid's S.649 which is an amalgam of a number of gun control bills. That bill would have criminalized something I did last year. My wife wanted to learn to shoot my Ruger 10/22. I took my rifle to a friend’s farm and gave it to him. My wife went up to his farm and he taught her to shoot it safely out on the “back forty.” Then he put it in her truck and she brought it home. He had the rifle for about 4 months. S649 would put all three of us in Federal prison for 5 years each, minimum. I asked the mayors, “How would making me, my wife, and our friend Mike into federal felons keep criminals from selling guns to each other on the streets of Durham, Morrisville, or Chapel Hill?” It was a good question and one that has an obvious answer. It wouldn't. As a side note, I recently participated in a webinar put on by the UNC School of Government recently. One of the last questions asked came from the town attorney of Chapel Hill. He wanted to know if a "large capacity assault weapon" could be considered a weapon of mass destruction under NCGS 160A-183. That statute says a town or city can prohibit "any weapons or instrumentalities of mass death and destruction". He was told it wasn't and that the town was preempted from regulating firearms. I mention this because it goes to show just how far towns run by Mayor Bloomberg's Illegal Mayors are trying to go. Go to Sean's blog, read the whole account, and watch the video. Sean deserves a lot of credit for going there and standing up for what is right.  Subscribe in a reader

About That .323 Caliber Rifle Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:10 AM PDT The search warrant for the Newtown shooter's home was released yesterday. This occasioned a number of stories about what was found. The detestable Piers Morgan tried to claim that both the shooter and his mother were NRA members based upon certificates for completing a basic NRA firearm safety course and a copy of the "NRA Guide to the Basics of Pistol Shooting" being found in the house. The NRA confirmed later that neither the shooter nor his mother were members.  CBS News reported that the police found a number of firearms and knives. Authorities found numerous knives, including samurai swords. They found a military-style uniform in Lanza's bedroom and handwritten notes containing the addresses of local gun shops. The guns found at the home included a .323-caliber Enfield Albian bolt-action rifle, a .22-caliber Savage Mark II rifle, a BB gun and a .22-caliber Volcanic starter pistol. Normally, when we see such obvious mistakes in a report from the mainstream media, we would pass it off to their persistent lack of knowledge about firearms. While the lack of knowledge about firearms may be present in this case, that description of a ".323-caliber Enfield Albian" rifle comes directly from the search warrant inventory. The search and inventory of the house was conducted by the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad and their forensics team. If you look on pages 8 and 9 of the released search warrant and inventory, you will see listed a number of items. In particular look at Item 13 and Item 14. The first is the contents of a gun safe which included two boxes of .303 British ammunition. The second is a rifle described as "One Enfield Albian bolt action rifle, .323 caliber, model no. 44MKI, SN HC22273A". The inventory was signed by Detective Jeffrey Payette, #679, of the Connecticut State Police. In all likelihood, the rifle in question is an Enfield SMLE No.4Mk1 in .303 caliber made at Albion Motors during WWII. Given that the Connecticut State Police found .303 British ammunition at the home, one would have thought that the detectives would have made the link between the ammo and the rifle. That they didn't goes to show that just because a cop carries a gun it doesn't mean that he or she knows much about firearms.  Subscribe in a reader

 

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