STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
Assemblywoman GAIL PHOEBUS
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Space
SYNOPSIS
Opposes United States signing and United States Senate ratifying United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution opposing the United States signing and the United States Senate ratifying a United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty.
Whereas, In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly requested countries to submit their views on an Arms Trade Treaty that would set internationally agreed standards for global trade in conventional weapons; and
Whereas, In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene a Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty in 2012 to execute a legally binding instrument on the highest possible common international standards for the transfer of conventional arms; and
Whereas, Although the Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty recently concluded its four-week session without agreement on a treaty text, the United Nations Secretary-General has indicated that this is not the end of the arms trade treaty, and that nations have agreed to continue pursuing this goal; and
Whereas, Although there is no final treaty text, the chairman’s Draft Paper implies an expansion of federal firearms controls that would be unacceptable on Second Amendment grounds; and
Whereas, As provided by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the right of Americans to keep and bear arms is an individual freedom that must not be infringed; and
Whereas, The Draft Paper suggests the creation of a United Nations- based firearms registry for all firearms that are either imported into or transited across national territory, which raises both Second Amendment and privacy concerns; and
Whereas, The Draft Paper appears to create a presumption in favor of the adoption, at the federal level, of further controls on firearms, infringing on both Second Amendment freedoms and the United States’ sovereignty; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The General Assembly of the State of New Jersey respectfully opposes the United States signing and the United States Senate ratifying a United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty.
2. Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Clerk of the General Assembly to the President and Vice President of the United
States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, every member of the
Congress of the United States elected from this State and the Secretary-General
of the United Nations.
STATEMENT
This resolution by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey respectfully opposes a United States signing and the United States Senate ratifying a United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty.
Although the 2012 Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty concluded its session without agreement on a treaty text, the United Nations Secretary-General has indicated that this is not the end of the arms trade treaty, and that nations have agreed to continue pursuing this goal. Although there is no final treaty text, the chairman’s Draft Paper implies an infringement on both Second Amendment freedoms and the United States’ sovereignty based upon an implied expansion of federal firearms controls, the creation of a United Nations-based firearms registry for all firearms that are either imported into or transited across national territory, and the presumption in favor of the adoption of further controls on firearms. As provided by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the right of Americans to keep and bear arms is an individual freedom that should not be infringed.