- 10.31.2013
Tester pledges to oppose U.N. Arms Trade Treaty
Senator leads opposition, raises Second Amendment concerns
(U.S. SENATE) – Senator Jon Tester is leading opposition to the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, saying the agreement could “undermine the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.”
Tester, a long-time champion of gun rights, told President Obama that while it’s important to keep weapons out of the hands of terrorists and human rights abusers, the Arms Trade Treaty “creates too much ambiguity in how Treaty provisions can and will be enforced.”
“We believe the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty still fails to address our concerns about the potential impacts the Treaty could have on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans,” Tester and his colleagues wrote. “We would oppose the Treaty if it were to come before the U.S. Senate.”
Tester is specifically concerned that the treaty covers small arms, light weapons and ammunitions, saying their inclusion makes the agreement too broad. He also says language in the treaty could force the U.S. to take certain actions even if it withdrew from the treaty in the future.
Tester previously led a group of Senators in opposition to the treaty two years ago, when he told President Obama that the treaty must not “in any way regulate the domestic manufacture, possession, or sales of firearms or ammunition” in the United States.