NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT: Vol. 20, No. 22 05/31/2013

Obama Administration Could Sign Arms Trade Treaty as Early as Monday

As we recently reported, 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 pushed the treaty process forward after negotiations twice failed to deliver on the goal of developing the treaty by consensus.

The Obama Administration is expected to sign the treaty soon after it is opened for signature on Monday, June 3--just days from now.

The ATT threatens the rights and privacy of American gun owners. Signatories will be 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., will be encouraged to take the firearm control laws of an importing country into account before approving a transfer of arms. And the treaty also encourages states to adopt domestic legislation to carry out the treaty's mandates.

The only way to stop the Obama-U.N. collusion from trampling our Second Amendment freedoms is through the U.S. Congress.

NRA Submits Testimony Opposing Mandatory Liability Insurance Bill for Gun Owners in D.C.

Since the Supreme Court's decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), some anti-gun politicians have resurrected a decades-old idea: If you can't ban guns, why not tax them so heavily that no ordinary person can afford to exercise his Second Amendment rights?

The latest movement on that front is in our nation's capitol, where District of Columbia Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) introduced Bill 20-170, the "Firearm Insurance Amendment Act." The measure would require D.C. residents to purchase liability insurance--of no less than $250,000--before being allowed to purchase a firearm. The liability insurance policy would specifically need to cover any damages resulting from negligent acts, or willful acts that are not undertaken in self-defense, involving the use of the insured firearm while it is owned by the policy holder. Under B20-170, individuals who currently possess firearms in D.C. would have to purchase liability insurance within 30 days of its effective date.

This week, the NRA submitted written testimony in opposition to the bill, pointing out that the misguided council members who are championing this bill are doing so in spite of the fact that D.C. already has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, yet consistently has one of the highest violent crime rates

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Rumor Control: Ammo Shortages Revisited!

As attacks on our Second Amendment rights increase, there is a predictable uptick in the number of internet rumors concerning firearms and ammunition. In particular, NRA-ILA receives frequent inquiries regarding ammo shortages.

A rumor that surfaced earlier this year was actually a variation of an old one, and claimed that George Soros owns "most of the ammunition manufacturing companies and many arms manufacturers," and that he's "selling ONLY to the government right now." This simply isn't true.

Enter to win the NRA-ILA Buck Knife Giveaway on Facebook!

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