| US Opposes UN 'Global Gun Control' | |
Dateline: 07/12/01
The United States on Monday told a United Nations small arms conference that it will reject any action toward "global gun control" designed to restrict the rights of the citizens of any nation to bear arms.
Speaking to a U.N. conference on curbing global trafficking in small arms, John Bolton, US undersecretary of state for arms control stated "The United States believes that the responsible use of firearms is a legitimate aspect of national life," and that Americans do not consider all firearms to be problematic.
U.N. officials contend the intent of the 10-day conference chaired by Colombian Defense Minister Gustavo Bell Lemus, is to reduce the flow of small arms being used in violent conflicts around the world, not to take guns away from American citizens. According to the U.N., over 500 million small arms have now been distributed worldwide by both legal and illegal arms dealers.
Deputy secretary-general Louise Frechette expressed the U.N.'s concern that in spite of the initial cost to manufacture them, the vast supply of small arms makes them inexpensive to purchase. "In some places an AK-47 assault rifle can be bought for as little as $15 or even a bag of grain," Frechette told the conference.
Bolton, however objected to the U.N. employing a definition of small arms including weapons from pistols to portable anti-tank guns and missile launchers.
"We [the United States] separate military arms from firearms such as hunting rifles and pistols," Bolton stated, urging other U.N. countries to enact restrictions on the import and export of arms, and regulations against illegal arms dealers similar to laws already in place in the United States.
"We do not support measures that would constrain legal trade and legal manufacturing of small arms and light weapons," said Bolton.
Among the proposed U.N. measures Bolton said the United States would vote to reject were requirements for any special markings or identification of weapons in excess of what the U.S. currently requires and any proposal to prohibit the ownership of arms intended for military purposes by private individuals.
By Tuesday afternoon, the U.N. had received some 400 angry email messages from American citizens accusing the United Nations of attempting to deprive them of their constitutional right to own firearms, according to this July 10 Wired News report.
On April 27, prior to the U.N. conference, National Rifle Association president Wayne Lapierre was quoted in conservative newswire Newsmax, as warning NRA members, "A United Nations conference has set its sights on global disarmament -– disarming citizens worldwide -– including you and me."
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