On July 27 the U.S., Russia, Indonasia, and India said they needed more time to think about the pact known as the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). This officially put the threat of a gun grab off, at least for six months. It won’t keep the treaty from making a come back, but at least it is does allow us to catch a breath before the next attack.
Some of this probably had to do with the fact that the Senators were threatening to oppose the treaty.
As soon as the negotiations of the treaty had been put on suspension, gun control groups took aim and fired at Barack Obama. Turtle Bay reported,
Arms controls advocates expressed dismay over the American move, saying it could undercut momentum that has been building to establish the world’s first international treaty government the export of weapons. Before the U.S. speech, they were convinced that the United States and other big powers were on board.
We are “extremely disappointed about this outcome,” said Daryl Kimball, the director of the Arms Control Association. The failure of this treaty is “in large part due to the failure of leadership by President Obama.”
“Today the U.S. did not grab the golden ring: an international arms treaty that would have bolstered our country’s reputation as a elader on human rights,” said Scott Stedjan, senior policy advisor for Oxfam. “Moving forward, President Obama must show the political courage required to make a strong treaty that contains strong rules on human rights a reality.”
The Brady campaign was not far behind:
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said both candidates owe voters concrete plans, and that tens of thousands of people had already signed a petition urging them to speak up. The group’s president, Dan Gross, said it was shameful for political leaders to play politics when lives could be saved.
“We truly believe, as a nation, we are better than this,” said Gross. “We’re better than a nation where shootings like the one in Aurora, Colo., happen with such frequency.”
Obama and his aides were initially tepid about calling for stricter gun regulations after 12 people were killed inside the Colorado movie theater, aware of the implications on a tight presidential race in a country where gun-rights activists have a powerful voice. But on Wednesday, Obama embraced some degree of additional restrictions, including tougher background checks.
Gross challenged Obama to move beyond rhetoric, arguing that Americans can’t be satisfied with words alone.
“The president said very similar things in his last campaign,” Gross said. “A speech is not a plan. An endorsement of a measure is not a solution.”
Isn’t it great to watch liberals attack each other? I say we need to see this a lot more often. Maybe they will be each other’s own demise in the end and we can get back to a truly Constitutional form of limited government and liberty for all.
