Originally published on the CGS blog on January 23, 2013.
Last week, Amnesty International USA issued a statement urging President Obama to take the lead on the Global Arms Trade Treaty, and to help stop “1,500 deaths every day resulting from the virtually unregulated flow of small arms globally.” Unregulated weapons perpetuate civil war, violence against women and children, and terrorism.
The United States must lead the formation of an agreement on basic regulations for the flow of small arms and conventional weapons crossing international borders. Amnesty’s campaign is aimed at battling the falsehood currently being spread by the National Rifle Association that the Arms Trade Treaty threatens Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Amnesty says, “The treaty is concerned exclusively with the flow of weapons between countries, not inside of them, and therefore has no bearing on the Second Amendment.”
Recent blog posts by GlobalSolutions.org on the Arms Trade Treaty include Sabotaging the Conversation about Guns and Make a Resolution that Counts. We want to hear from you. What are your thoughts on international arms control?
