What to Know about the UN’s Efforts to Curb Global Arms Trade

United Nations member states overwhelmingly adopted the Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the trade of conventional weapons on April 2, 2013. Pushback from opponents of the treaty have resulted in publication and broadcast of numerous falsehoods in the U.S. media about what it would mean should the U.S. ratify the ATT. Detractors say that ratification will cede Americans’ rights under the Second Amendment of the Constitution and subject U.S. citizens’ arms to confiscation by the United Nations. These accusations are completely false. The ATT (or any other international treaty for that matter) does not, and cannot, supersede the U.S. Constitution, and the treaty regulates the international trade of arms; it would not affect domestic gun sales in the United States.

Falsehoods surrounding the ATT distort the peaceful intentions of the UN to regulate the illegal sales of guns across borders, including sales that end up providing arms to terrorists, child soldiers, and other criminals. Let your voice be heard; stand up for the UN! Below please find a fact sheet and recent news articles to help you learn more about the ATT. Please contact our Membership Team at membership@unausa.org with any questions.

Resources

• Myth vs. Fact on the Arms Trade Treaty
• Arms Trade Treaty Talking Points 
• Statement from Secretary of State John Kerry
• Arms Trade Treaty Text

Related Stories

• Statement from Better World Campaign Executive Director Peter Yeo on Approval of the Arms Trade Treaty
• Former Sierra Leone Child Soldier Calls for International Support of Arms Treaty (New York Times)
• No, the Arms Trade Treaty STILL is Not a “UN Gun Grab” (UN Dispatch)
• The UN Arms Trade Treaty: Are Our 2nd Amendment Rights Part Of The Deal? (Forbes Magazine)
• A Treaty on Conventional Arms (New York Times editorial)
• 3 Things You Need to Know About the Arms Trade Treaty (UN Dispatch)