[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S9150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SECOND AMENDMENT PROTECTION ACT OF 2005

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill that 
would withhold United States contributions to the United Nations if the 
U.N. interferes with the second amendment rights guaranteed by our 
Constitution.
  The U.N. has no business interfering with the second amendment rights 
guaranteed by our Constitution. That is why I am introducing 
legislation to safeguard our citizens against any potential 
infringement of their second amendment rights.
  In July, 2001, the U.N. convened a conference, known as the 
``Conference on the Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in 
All Its Aspects in July 2001.'' One outcome of the conference was a 
resolution entitled, ``The United Nations Program of Action to Prevent, 
Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons 
in All Its Aspects.'' This resolution calls for actions that could 
abridge the second amendment rights of individuals in the United 
States, including: (1) national registries and tracking lists of legal 
firearms; (2) the establishment of an international tracking 
certificate, which could be used to ensure U.N. monitoring of the 
export, import, transit, stocking, and storage of legal small arms and 
light weapons; and (3) worldwide record keeping for an indefinite 
amount of time on the manufacture, holding, and transfer of small arms 
and light weapons.
  The U.N. also wishes to establish a system for tracking small arms 
and light weapons. How would they do this? It would be done by forcing 
legal, licensed gun manufacturer's to create identifiable marks for 
each nation. The gun manufacturer's lists would then be provided to 
international authorities on behalf of the U.N.
  Who would maintain these intrusive lists? Would it be the World 
Customs Organization, which the U.N. has suggested as a possible 
vehicle? That organization counts Iran, Syria, China, and Cuba among 
its membership. Would all World Customs Organization members have 
access to such lists? In the event that those with access to such 
information abuse or misuse it, what would be the remedy? How would we 
prevent unauthorized persons, perhaps criminals and terrorists, from 
acquiring such information from rogue nations who have declared the 
United States an enemy?
  Some at the U.N. have suggested that tracing certain financial 
transactions of a legal and law abiding gun industry could be a useful 
tool in tracking firearms. What would such tracing entail? Does the 
U.N. expect to receive private U.S. banking records of a legal and law 
abiding industry?
  Furthermore, the U.N. has encouraged member States to integrate 
measures to control ammunition with regard to small arms, and some 
members have expressed a desire to tax international arms sales. The 
U.N. has no legal right or authority to collect a tax from American 
citizens to further any agenda, especially gun control measures.
  The U.S. Constitution has guaranteed our citizens the right to keep 
and bear arms. I intend to help protect that right with this 
legislation. I urge my colleagues to support the Second Amendment 
Protection Act of 2005.

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