Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The treaty's Article 5 requires nations to "establish and maintain a national control system"...

including a "national control list." Article 10 requires signatories "to regulate brokering" of conventional arms. The treaty offers no guarantee for individual rights...
 From an excellent article by John Bolton and John Yoo in the WSJ, concerning the UN Arms Trade Treaty, which President Obama has promised to sign.

But surely this treaty is entirely concerned with arms trade between nations, right?

Gun-control advocates will use these provisions to argue that the U.S. must enact measures such as a national gun registry, licenses for guns and ammunition sales, universal background checks, and even a ban of certain weapons. The treaty thus provides the Obama administration with an end-run around Congress to reach these gun-control holy grails.

(Bold for emphasis mine.)  Remember when garage mahal laughed off any suggestion that any Democrat at any level intended to advance gun control?  Paranoid wing nuts, he said.  Good times.

But wait -- how could the President implement elements of a treaty that seeks to impose unconstitutional restrictions on our liberty?
...treaties therefore aren't textually subject to the limits on Congress's power. Treaties still receive the force of law under the Supremacy Clause, which declares that "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land." Some have argued over the years that this difference in language between laws and treaties allows the latter to sweep more broadly than the former.
... President Obama could issue executive orders for a gun registry and background checks, on the claim that he is implementing the treaty.
 But we still have a chance:
Fortunately the Framers required that the president submit all significant international agreements to the Senate...
 ...Whooo, that's a relief.  The senate....where the Democrats have a 52-46 majority; plus "independents" Bernie Sanders and Angus King (that makes 54).  Oh, and those 46 Republicans include 16 RINOs that voted to proceed with gun control legislation in April.

Tonight, we drink.  We drink tequila.  Prepare yourselves.
 

17 comments:

edutcher said...

They might want to reread (read in Choomie's case) Ben Franklin's admonition to the Continental Congress about hanging.

I think we're getting there.

Pastafarian said...

Tonight, we drink. We drink tequila. Prepare yourselves.

Companeros of the plow,
Tired and starved and dirty,
There's but one road to follow now,
So grab your .30-30.

Did you know Czarist Russia was one of the most heavily armed societies in the world?

Until the Commies established a gun registry.

ricpic said...

It was inevitable that America, born escaping the Master & Man paradigm, would grow its own home grown variety of elites who desperately want to return us to subservience a la the European model.

Icepick said...


But surely this treaty is entirely concerned with arms trade between nations, right?


You mean like giving firearms to Mexican drug cartels or missiles to AQ subsidiaries or F-15s to the Muslim Brotherhood?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

But please, don't call Obama a dictator.

Revenant said...

Hm, I probably better stockpile some extra ammo and spare parts.

Pastafarian said...

Aha, so it's you. You're the son-of-a-bitch buying up all the ammo.

Leave some .308 for me, will you? And some .45 ACP. I haven't been plinking in months, just because I don't want to burn through precious ammo that might be impossible to replace.

KCFleming said...

President Rodeo Clown.

Methadras said...

Pastafarian said...

Aha, so it's you. You're the son-of-a-bitch buying up all the ammo.

Leave some .308 for me, will you? And some .45 ACP. I haven't been plinking in months, just because I don't want to burn through precious ammo that might be impossible to replace.


Just bought a thousand rounds of .45acp ammo and finally got another Springfield Armory XDM .45ACP 4.5" so I'll be at the range in a week to go through all 1000 rounds. :D it looks like ammo is starting to flow again from what I'm seeing, but weapons are still kind of iffy to get and some magazines especially for this model I have are getting hard to get.

Trooper York said...

They have also signed the Budapest Protocol which demands an end to the use of rodeo clowns.

JAL said...

Sigh. I haven't plinked in ages because I have a very small stock of ammo for home protection (even then it's FMJ).

WHAT is wrong with the men and women who represent the citizens of this country? I am really disgusted.

We need to get organized better and throw these elitist "professionals" out on their rears.

You libs - don't you get how crappy this is becoming and how blatant the violation of the rule of law is?

Rand Paul is sounding more attractive daily.

It's not just get out of Europe -- it's get Europe out of here.

Icepick said...

WHAT is wrong with the men and women who represent the citizens of this country? I am really disgusted.

There's nothing wrong with the elected representatives at all. You're just under the mistaken impression that they represent the people in Washington. Instead, they represent Washington and New York to the rest of the nation.

How shut up and eat your shit sandwich, serf.

ndspinelli said...

Trooper, lol!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The left never mocked Bush in rodeo clown fashion. No never.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

IowaHawk:

Key issues of the American left
2007: war, deficits, civil liberties
2013: impertinent rodeo clowns

rhhardin said...

I don't see how the Senate can change the Constitution via international treaty.

Some of those penumbras and eminations go back the other way.

International treaties are void if they violate the Constitution.

JAL said...

The left never mocked Bush in rodeo clown fashion. No never.

As a matter of fact, they did.

Funny that. Though I don't think it was the left, per se.

And "GWB" did get shredded by the bull ...

JAL said...

@ icepick

:-P