International Threat to American Sovereignty and 2^nd Amendment Freedoms
By John C. Sigler, President
Fifty Caliber Institute (FCI)

John C. Sigler

From the United Nations to the Halls of Congress, and from the State Department to the White House, there looms an international threat to America's Second Amendment rights that far too few American citizens fully understand or appreciate. Anti-gun zealots, both foreign and domestic, seem bent upon doing through international means that which they have been unsuccessful in accomplishing through America's own legislative process. And in this Election year, it is impossible for me to over emphasis the seriousness of the current threat to American freedom and American sovereignty.

We all witnessed the spectacle of Mexico's President Felipe Calderon in our nation's capitol lecturing Congress and the American people on gun-rights policy, blaming law-abiding citizens for his nation's drug violence. Worse yet, we have all seen and read about our own President and Secretary of State agreeing with Calderon and using Mexico's drug violence and culture of corruption as an excuse to tout further restrictions on America's Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

But did you know that there are multiple agencies within the United Nations actually competing to formulate anti-gun and anti-American strategies to take away your freedom? It's true! Right now, the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs in New York, the U.N. Crime Commission in Vienna, and the U.N. Development Program in Geneva are all involved in anti-gun activities designed to negatively impact our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. And as if that were not enough, the U.N.'s office of "Coordinated Action on Small Arms" is working to coordinate the efforts of the other three entities. These four offices are involved with at least four major firearm initiatives, including two existing treaties, the U.N. Firearms Protocol and the so-called CIFTA Treaty among members of the Organization of American States.

The CIFTA Treaty has already been sent to the U.S. Senate by President Obama and is awaiting ratification. If ratified, this treaty could outlaw ammunition reloading unless you first obtain a global government license - including reloading for Fifty Caliber Shooters Association competitions. It could even require you to number, register, track and account for every round of ammunition you ever buy, reload, own or use.

Harold Koh, the man who President Obama appointed as legal advisor to the State Department, and the man who will initially interpret the meaning and applicability of treaties to which the U.S. is a signatory, who represents U.S. interests in international courts and interprets U.S. policy on international law describes himself as a "trans-nationalist" - someone who believes that our laws should be brought into line with the rest of the world.

Mr. Koh, in a speech titled "A World Drowning in Guns" said "Guns kill civil society" and "if we really do care about human rights, we have to do something about the guns". Mr. Koh has also stated that he believes in "a global system of effective controls on small arms" and that the CIFTA Treaty should be supplemented with "supply- side controls in the United States."

Mr. Kohl is quoted as saying that one "particularly intriguing idea" would be "promoting 'smart' or perishable ammunition" such as "bullets that would degrade and become unusable over time". His idea also includes ammunition with expiration dates.

With Supreme Court Justices who believe in "international norming" and who are opposed to Heller and McDonald Principles, no one can predict how such treaties and ideas might be viewed by the Court in a Second Amendment challenge. And that brings us to this year's November elections. When considering the options when casting your vote for United States Senators, please understand that it is the United States Senate that ratifies treaties. And, it is the United States Senate that votes on the President's nominees to the federal Bench, including the Supreme Court.