Senate Passes Amendment Stopping US from Joining UN Arms Trade Treaty

By Susan Duclos

The U.S. Senate, with a vote of 53-46 voted on an amendment proposed by Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), which prevents the U.S. from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

Statement of purpose: To uphold Second Amendment rights and prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

According to the Senate roll call of the vote, eight Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the amendment to uphold Second Amendment rights. Those Democrats were Begich (D-AK), Donnelly (D-IN), Hagan (D-NC), Heinrich (D-NM), Heitkamp (D-ND), Manchin (D-WV), Pryor (D-AR),  and Tester (D-MT).

Via The Hill:

The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty would regulate international arms sales. Negotiations end on March 28.

“We’re negotiating a treaty that cedes our authority to have trade agreements with our allies in terms of trading arms,” Inhofe said. “This is probably the last time this year that you’ll be able to vote for your Second Amendment rights.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) offered an alternative amendment that clarified that under current U.S. law, treaties don’t trump the Constitution and that the United States should not agree to any arms treaty that violates the Second Amendment rights. His amendment passed by voice vote.

The Senate's Role in Treaties

 

The Constitution provides that the president "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur" (Article II, section 2). The Constitution's framers gave the Senate a share of the treaty power in order to give the president the benefit of the Senate's advice and counsel, check presidential power, and safeguard the sovereignty of the states by giving each state an equal vote in the treatymaking process. As Alexander Hamilton explained in Federalist no. 75, “the operation of treaties as laws, plead strongly for the participation of the whole or a portion of the legislative body in the office of making them.” The constitutional requirement that the Senate approve a treaty with a two-thirds vote means that successful treaties must gain support that overcomes partisan division. The two-thirds requirement adds to the burdens of the Senate leadership, and may also encourage opponents of a treaty to engage in a variety of dilatory tactics in hopes of obtaining sufficient votes to ensure its defeat.

 The Senate vote on the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty came within days of Secretary of State John Kerry announcing U.S. support for the treaty.

[Update below]

Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, issued a statement praising Senator Inhofe (R-Okla.) for introducing an amendment,  saying the fight to oppose “any United Nations effort to undermine the constitutional rights of law-abiding American gun owners” has grown “more intense.”

“Thanks to the efforts of Senator Inhofe, we are one step closer to ensuring the UN will not trample on the freedoms our Founding Fathers guaranteed to us,” Cox said. (Source)

[Update] List of the 46 Democrats that voted Nay:

NAYs ---46
Baldwin (D-WI) Baucus (D-MT) Bennet (D-CO) Blumenthal (D-CT) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Coons (D-DE) Cowan (D-MA) Durbin (D-IL) Feinstein (D-CA) Franken (D-MN) Gillibrand (D-NY)	Harkin (D-IA) Hirono (D-HI) Johnson (D-SD) Kaine (D-VA) King (I-ME) Klobuchar (D-MN) Landrieu (D-LA) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) Merkley (D-OR) Mikulski (D-MD) Murphy (D-CT) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL)	Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schatz (D-HI) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Stabenow (D-MI) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Warner (D-VA) Warren (D-MA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)