US Foreign Policy Regarding Gun Control:
Despite avid support for Second Amendment rights by many Americans, much of the US government tends to be very liberal towards gun policy. A couple recent developments in US gun policy, such as the failed Operation Fast and Furious and the recent Arms Trade Treaty, show the federal government's inability to make good decisions involving gun control. These events are important for the understanding of why it may not be in this nation's best interest to tighten gun control since it could have many unintended consequences.
Operation Fast and Furious:
Operation Fast and Furious is considered one of the greatest blunders in US history. It was devised by the United States Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). In 2009, the ATF created the operation in as an attempt to fight Mexican Drug Cartels in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern states in the US. The goal was to take down large portions of the arms trafficking network rather than individual buyers. The ATF allowed gun-walking which is where they sold the firearms and allowed them to be taken back into Mexico in hopes that they could trace the firearms and the movements of the cartels. By 2010, almost 2 thousand fireamrs worth over $1 million had been purchased by suspects being tracked by the ATF, but no arrests had been made. Then on December 14, 2010, US Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry, was shot and killed by firearms the ATF was tracking. His family filed a lawsuit against seven government employees and a gun shop owner claiming that the defendants "created, organized, implemented, and/or participated in a plan... to facilitate the distribution of dangerous firearms to violent criminals [and] should have known that their actions would cause substantial injuries, significant harm, and even death to Mexican and American civilians and law enforcement, but were recklessly indifferent to the consequence of their actions" (Attkisson 1). In addition, some of the 20 armed cartel members that committed the Villas de Salvarcar Massacre in January 2010 used firearms from Operation Fast and Furious. Sixteen people, fourteen of them teenagers, were killed at a birthday party. After these events, the US government began the internal probe into the operation. Of the 2,000 firearms involved in the operation, only approximately 600 of them were recovered and the remaining 1,400 continue to pop-up in violent crimes in both the US and Mexico. According to Congress and the Inspector General have shown at least 17 ATF and Justice Department officials are responsible for the mismanagement of Operation Fast and Furious. Many questions are still in need of answering, but after the Congressional hearings, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt.
So how does this tie in with the current gun policy issues? It simply shows the federal government's inability to control and regulate
firearms and crime across international borders. If they can't do this, why would US citizens want to allow the government to become more involved in domestic gun policy? Gun crime is a major issue in many cities, and federal government intervention could possibly make things worse off.
So how does this tie in with the current gun policy issues? It simply shows the federal government's inability to control and regulate
firearms and crime across international borders. If they can't do this, why would US citizens want to allow the government to become more involved in domestic gun policy? Gun crime is a major issue in many cities, and federal government intervention could possibly make things worse off.
The United States and the United Nations:
Recently, the United States and 154 nations agreed to the Arms Trade Treaty in the UN General Assembly. The treaty establishes many controls on many illegal exports but what it also establishes are many domestic regulations. The two most concerning articles in the treaty are Article 5 and Article 10. Article 5 "requires nations to establish and maintain a national control system [and] a national control list" and Article 10 "requires signatories to regulate brokering of conventional arms" (Bolton & Yoo). Many gun-control advocates are cartwheeling at this news since they support a national gun registry and stricter gun laws. Many NRA members and pro-gun activists do in fact support a national gun registry if it is implemented to their preference. The dangers of this treaty are the fact that if President Obama feels strongly enough about implementing these new gun laws, he could do so by issuing executive orders and doing it in whatever way he decides. Congress can also use the treaty as grounds for new legislation and to gain support from the courts. Its almost like a loophole that many liberals are trying to use to finally gain ground against the avid supporters of the Second Amendment. Luckily, the Senate can veto any significant executive orders if need be. John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN, and John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, both agree that "there could be no greater justification for senators to exercise their veto over treaties than the cause of protecting the individual liberties of Americans including the right to bear arms." Hopefully the Senate will see the effect this treaty will have and consider the advice of John Bolton and John Yoo.