UN General Assembly Passes Arms Trade Treaty, Senate Rebuffs

On April 2, the United Nations General Assembly voted 153-4 to pass the Arms Trade Treaty, with the United States voting in favor and several countries abstaining. The vote in the General Assembly was necessary to push the treaty process forward after negotiations twice failed to deliver on the goal of developing the treaty by unanimous consent. The Obama Administration is expected to sign the treaty soon after it is opened for signature June 3. 

The text of the approved treaty is deeply problematic and threatens the rights and privacy of American gun owners. Signatories are encouraged to keep information on the "end users" of arms imported into their territory and supply such information to the exporting country. Exporting nations, nearly all of which have civilian firearm control regimes far harsher than the U.S., are encouraged to take the firearm control laws of an importing country into account before approving a transfer of arms. The treaty also encourages states to adopt domestic legislation to facilitate the treaty's onerous requirements.

For U.S. gun owners, the fight now moves to the Senate, where the Obama administration would need to find 67 senators to ratify the treaty. A majority of senators have already made clear their opposition. On March 23, 53 senators endorsed an amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2014, "establish[ing] a deficit neutral fund" to oppose United States entrance into the treaty. Additionally, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kans.), along with 32 cosponsors, has put forth a concurrent resolution expressing the Senate's opposition to the ATT, as it "fails to expressly recognize the fundamental, individual right to keep and to bear arms and the individual right of personal self-defense... and thus risks infringing on freedoms protected by the Second Amendment."

Following U.N. passage of the treaty, several senators were quick to further register their opposition. In an April 2press release, Sen. Moran made clear his continued opposition to the ATT and urged his colleagues to do the same, noting, "Given the apparent support of the Obama Administration for the ATT, members of the U.S. Senate must continue to make clear that any treaty that violates our Second Amendment freedoms will be an absolute nonstarter for ratification." Moran's office also pointed out that the General Assembly vote illustrates how the Obama Administration reneged in its previous insistence that the ATT be developed by consensus.

Also commenting on the ATT vote was Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who reiterated some of the NRA's concerns about the document, stating, "The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that passed in the General Assembly today would require the United States to implement gun-control legislation as required by the treaty, which could supersede the laws our elected officials have already put into place."

Similarly, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) urged Senate opposition, declaring, "It's our job to make sure any treaty the U.S. enters doesn't interfere with our sovereign ability to uphold the rights of Americans… The arms treaty simply doesn't include strong enough protections to pass that test, and I won't support any treaty that undermines the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Montanans."

A day later, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined in with a statement in which the senator explains, "I have great concerns that this treaty can be used to violate the Second Amendment rights of American citizens, and do not believe we should sign any treaty that infringes on the sovereignty of our country."

Unfortunately, once a treaty has been signed, it normally remains available for the Senate to ratify in perpetuity, unless a later president withdraws from it. This means that American gun owners must remain vigilant in ensuring this treaty is never ratified. In the coming months and years, the NRA will keep gun owners up to date on any movement toward ratification, and will work with our allies in the Senate to ensure the treaty remains unratified.

Connecticut: Governor Malloy and Connecticut General Assembly Approve an Irresponsible and Dangerous Measure that will Victimize Responsible Gun Owners

Today, Governor Dan Malloy (D) disregarded the constitutional rights of the residents in Connecticut and signed Senate Bill 1160 into law, the most sweeping and radical “gun control” bill in our nation’s history. This measure was approved in the state Senate by a 26-10 vote and in the state House by a 105-44 vote, only hours after both chambers received the bill language.

Governor Malloy and his “Gang of Six”—Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams, Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, Speaker Brendan Sharkey, House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, and House Minority Leader Larry Cafero—led the charge to hastily enact legislation that will forever change your Second Amendment rights and sporting heritage in Connecticut.

Labeled an “Emergency Certification Bill,” SB 1160 was approved by both legislative chamberswithout a public hearing or allowing adequate time for committee review. So the foundation of the democratic process was effectively eliminated, even state legislators were not permitted enough time to become fully versed on the bill language before voting on it. The anti-gun elite did the same thing in New York in January and are only now finding and admitting their mistakes, problems and "unintended consequences."

In less than 24 hours, a bill was passed by both legislative chambers and signed into law by the Governor. Regardless of one's views on gun control issues, the general public should be outraged at politicians enacting laws in this manner. Important policy should not be decided like this in America and especially in a state nicknamed the "Constitution State."

If your state legislators voted for Senate Bill 1160, please call and e-mail them and let them know how utterly disappointed you are in their irresponsible vote for such an extremist measure. Ask them why they voted for a measure without allowing time for public input and review. If your state legislator(s) voted against the measure, please thank them. Click here to view contact information for your state legislators.

Your NRA is fully committed to our members and all responsible gun owners in Connecticut, and is preparing appropriate legal action to address the enactment of this legislation. Furthermore, we are deeply committed to holding every state legislator -- who voted for this blatantly unconstitutional measure in the darkness of night -- accountable in the 2014 election. We are analyzing all ramifications of this act and will be communicating that information to our members soon.

The most tragic aspect of this situation is not the destruction of your Right to Keep and Bear Arms, but that certain legislators radically impacted your lives without initiating ANY proposal to keep you safe from the criminal access to or misuse of firearms. This new gun control law is not going to stop a future act of violence by a street criminal, gang member or madman who misuses a firearm.
 

In addition to contacting your state legislators if they voted for SB 1160, please contact the “Gang of Six” let them know your disgust with their backroom deal-making that betrayed the rights of responsible gun owners and tell them you will not forget.

Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams

Williams@senatedems.ct.gov
Aide: 860-240-8634
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donald.williams.7758?fref=pb 

Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney
Looney@senatedems.ct.gov
Aide: 860-240-0375

Senate Minority John McKinney
John.McKinney@cga.ct.gov
Aide: 860-240-8846
Office: 860-240-8813
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SenatorMcKinney

Speaker Brendan Sharkey
J.Brendan.Sharkey@cga.ct.gov
Aide: 860-240-8577
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sharkey.Brendan

House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz
Joe.Aresimowicz@cga.ct.gov
Aide: 860-240-8581
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joe.aresimowicz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeAresimowicz

House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero
Lawrence.Cafero@housegop.ct.gov
Aide: 860-240-0028
Office: 860-240-8708
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepLarryCafero
Twitter: https://twitter.com/larrycafero
                                                       

UN Agenda 21 – Fact or Fiction

This content provided courtesy of Politics are Personal. Contact the author at PoliticsArePersonal (AT) Gmail (DOT) Com For over a year, I have been reading about the U.N. Agenda 21 initiative that several Presidents have signed, It is a Treaty of sorts, so, in order for it to have authority on United States soil, it has to be ratified by the Congress. That has not happened yet, but the widespread reach of the original initiative continues around the world. The one thing I want you, as a taxpayer, to understand first is that you and I are paying the bulk of all costs in the perpetuation of the U.N. Agenda 21 plan which reaches into every aspect of your daily life; health, food, safety and individual property rights.

SOUNDS LIKE SCIENCE FICTION...OR SOME CONSPIRACY THEORY...BUT IT ISN'T.
UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development is the action plan implemented worldwide to inventory and control all land, all water, all minerals, all plants, all animals, all construction, all means of production, all energy, all education, all information, and all human beings in the world.     INVENTORY AND CONTROL.

Sustainable Development was created and defined by the United Nations in 1987, and the action plan to implement it was signed onto in 1992 by GHW Bush and 178 other nations.  It was called Agenda 21, the agenda for the 21st century.  Considered unsustainable under this plan: middle class lifestyle, single family homes, private vehicles, meat eating, air conditioning, appliances, dams, tillage.  
UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development is an action plan that is used to inventory and control all resources (land, minerals, water), all animals, all means of production, all information, and all human beings  in the world.  

Clinton began to implement it in the US in 1993 by giving the American Planning Association a multi-million dollar grant to write a land use legislative blueprint for every municipality in the US.  It is called Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook with Model Statutes for Planning and the Management of Change.  This was completed in 2002 and is being used to train planners in every university, college and government planning office in the nation.  Growing Smart is Smart Growth.

In a nutshell, the plan calls for governments to take control of all land use and not leave any of the decision making in the hands of private property owners.  It is assumed that people are not good stewards of their land and the government will do a better job if they are in control.  Individual rights in general are to give way to the needs of communities as determined by the governing body.  Moreover, people should be rounded up off the land and packed into human settlements, or islands of human habitation, close to employment centers and transportation.  Another program, called the Wildlands Project spells out how most of the land is to be set aside for non-humans.
U.N. Agenda 21 cites the affluence of Americans as being a major problem which needs to be corrected.  It calls for lowering the standard of living for Americans so that the people in poorer countries will have more, a redistribution of wealth.  Although people around the world aspire to achieve the levels of prosperity we have in our country, and will risk their lives to get here, Americans are cast in a very negative light and need to be taken down to a condition closer to average in the world.  Only then, they say, will there be social justice which is a cornerstone of the U.N. Agenda 21 plan.

This ideology is being used as the justification to radically change every city in the United States and to impose regulations dictated by non-elected regional boards and commissions.  This dramatic revolution in private property rights extends to every facet of our lives:  our own bodies are our most vital private property.  We are being told that this is OUR PLAN but it is not.

 If you're paying attention and reading intelligently.  Articles about redevelopment projects, bicycle boulevards, neighborhood summits, neighborhood elections, neighborhood revitalization projects, neighborhood stabilization projects, visioning, local boards, smart growth projects, low-income housing subsidies, transportation grants, green building retrofit programs, well monitoring, SMART electric and gas meters, and the people who object to them come out every day.  Connect with those people.  Tell them about UN Agenda 21.  Be a bridge.   

 ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of 12 mega-cities, 100 super-cities and urban regions, 450 large cities as well as 450 small and medium-sized cities and towns in 84 countries.  There's an election coming up.  Go to the forums.  Ask:  'What is your position on UN Agenda 21?'  Hold up a sign.  Find out if your town or county is a member of ICLEI.  Ask: 'What is your position on ICLEI?  Will you commit to KICK ICLEI out of our community? 
You can read more athttp://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/index.html Yep, Dems against the plan!! When you hear "Agenda 21" know that it is not a fiction. The plan was created in the UN and has pored into thousands of think tanks around the world; even into your own Lorain County. You and I are footing the bill via grant monies from every agency in our government. Each one, the Department of Education, the EPA, the Agriculture Department, Homeland Security and all the others, have a series of directives that support the expansion of the United Nation's global plan.

If you don't think you are over taxed and under represented; start asking your representative (and I really use that term lightly) about why you pay a special assessment on your real estate bill for rain water, Agenda 21, sustainable living, smart climate, smart growth, redistribution of wealth or social justice; which is the corner stone for the plan. 

This content provided courtesy of Politics are Personal. Contact the author at PoliticsArePersonal (AT) Gmail (DOT) Com

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