Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) led a bipartisan group of 50 U.S. Senators, including Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), in reiterating to President Obama that the Senate overwhelmingly opposes the ratification of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and will not be bound by its obligations.
“The Administration’s recent signing of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty was a direct dismissal of the bipartisan Senate majority that rejects this treaty,” Sen. Moran said. “Throughout this process, it has been disturbing to watch the Administration reverse U.S. policies, abandon its own ‘red line’ negotiation principles, admit publicly the treaty’s dangerous ambiguity, and hastily review the final treaty text. Today I join my colleagues in upholding the fundamental individual rights of Americans by reiterating our rejection of the ATT. The Senate will overwhelmingly oppose ratification, and will not be bound by the treaty.”
“Under no circumstances should this country surrender our gun rights to the control of the United Nations,” Senator Manchin said. “While we can work toward improving the regulation of the international trade of weapons, I am very concerned that the rights of law-abiding Americans would be violated by entering into this agreement. I strongly oppose any treaty that infringes on our Second Amendment rights.”

“The Senate spoke out against the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty this past March when 53 Senators voted for my amendment to the Senate budget resolution to block U.S. involvement in the treaty,” Sen. Inhofe said. “Despite clear opposition, the Obama Administration proceeded in misleading the U.N. and making the United States a signatory nation of this treaty. It is time that the Administration puts this failed effort to rest once and for all and instead focus on the serious economic and national security problems that threaten our country.”

In the letter to the president, the Senators outline six reasons why they will not give advice and consent to the treaty and are therefore not bound to uphold the treaty’s object and purpose.

“We urge you to notify the treaty depository that the U.S. does not intend to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty, and is therefore not bound by its obligations,” the 50 Senators wrote to President Obama.

The six reasons for opposing ratification of the ATT include:

The treaty failed to achieve consensus, and was adopted by majority vote in the U.N. General Assembly. This violates the red line drawn by the Obama Administration;
The treaty allows amendments by a three-quarters majority vote, circumventing the power and duty of the U.S. Senate to provide its advice and consent on treaty commitments before they are assumed by the United States;
The treaty includes only a weak non-binding reference to the lawful ownership, use of, and trade in firearms, and recognizes none of these activities, much less individual self-defense, as fundamental individual rights. This poses a threat to the Second Amendment;
The State Department has acknowledged that the treaty is “ambiguous.” By becoming party to the treaty, the U.S. would therefore be accepting commitments that are inherently unclear;
The criteria at the heart of the treaty are vague and easily politicized. They violate the right of the American people, under the Constitution, to freely govern themselves. The language restricts the ability of the United States to conduct its own foreign policy and allows foreign sources of authority to impose judgment or control upon the United States; and
The State Department has acknowledged that the treaty includes language that could hinder the United States from fulfilling its strategic, legal and moral commitments to provide arms to key allies such as the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the State of Israel.

The letter is signed by a bipartisan group of 50 U.S. Senators.

Over the past two years, Sen. Moran has led multiple Senate efforts to express concerns to the Administration about the ATT including: