Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #31
    Join Date
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    Default Re: US Senate does NOT have to vote on the UN Gun treaty

    Quote Originally Posted by Brick View Post
    But the response from Kelly is meaningless, since the House of Representatives has NO responsibilty in the ratification of treaties.

    But fwiw Sen. Casey also opposed the ATT.
    This was the response I received from Senator Casey a few weeks ago:



    Dear Mr. Rahl:
    *
    Thank you for taking the time to contact me about S. 2205, the Second Amendment Sovereignty Act. *I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.
    *
    As you may know, on October 30, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly voted on a resolution to consider a proposed Arms Trade Treaty. *As treaty negotiations have progressed, Second Amendment supporters in the United States have expressed concern that the treaty could infringe on their Constitutional right to bear arms. *On July 23, 2012, I joined forty-seven Senators in sending a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton urging them to guarantee that the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans are protected in the final version of the treaty. *I believe that while the United States should work to prevent weapons from being sold to terrorists or organized crime enterprises, we must also protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights. *Specifically, the Arms Trade Treaty must not regulate domestic trade or possession of small arms. *I also oppose the creation of an international firearm registry that could impede upon the privacy and ownership rights of law-abiding gun owners. *On July 2, 2012, the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty began at the United Nations in New York City. *Before any proposed treaty becomes binding U.S. law, the Senate would have to ratify the agreement. *As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, I will have your thoughts in mind should this treaty come before the Committee for consideration. *
    *
    Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas introduced the Second Amendment Sovereignty Act on March 19, 2012. *S. 2205 would prohibit the use of funds in connection with negotiations for a United Nations Arms Trade Treaty that would affect the Second Amendment rights of United States citizens. *The Second Amendment Sovereignty Act was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. *Please be assured that as the Committee considers this legislation, I will also have your views in mind.
    *
    Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. *Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
    *
    If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. *I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.
    *
    Sincerely,
    Bob Casey
    United States Senator

  2. #32
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    Default Re: US Senate does NOT have to vote on the UN Gun treaty

    Dick Morris is full of it.

    1. See the Supremacy Clause.

    2. SCOTUS--Reid v. Covert. "no agreement with a foreign nation can confer power on the Congress, or on any other branch of Government, which is free from the restraints of the Constitution." You will note the 2nd Amendment is both enumerated and has been incorporated.

    3. SCOTUS--Medellín v. Texas. "While a treaty may constitute an international commitment, it is not binding domestic law unless Congress has enacted statutes implementing it or the treaty itself conveys an intention that it be
    “self-executing” and is ratified on that basis."

    and

    "The combination of a non-self-executing treaty and the lack of im*
    plementing legislation does not preclude the President from acting to
    comply with an international treaty obligation by other means, so
    long as those means are consistent with the Constitution. But the
    President may not rely upon a non-self-executing treaty to establish
    binding rules of decision that pre-empt contrary state law."

    and

    "Medellín and his amici nonetheless contend that the
    Optional Protocol, United Nations Charter, and ICJ Stat*
    ute supply the “relevant obligation” to give the Avena
    judgment binding effect in the domestic courts of the
    United States. Reply Brief for Petitioner 5–6.4
    Because
    none of these treaty sources creates binding federal law in
    the absence of implementing legislation, and because it is
    uncontested that no such legislation exists, we conclude
    that the Avena judgment is not automatically binding
    domestic law."

    To recap:

    1. The Constitution is the Supreme law of the land.

    2. Treaties cannot trump the Constitution. The 2nd Amendment is firmly part thereof.

    3. A self executing treaty only becomes self executing if it is ratified and consented to by Congress as self-executing. The Small Arms Treaty won't clear the Senate.

    4. There will be no implementing legislation.

    I'm not a lawyer, but I, unlike Dick Morris, don't make money by pulling on my tinfoil hat and exciting others to do the same.

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