When the United Nations unveils the first major treaty aimed at controlling the $85 billion global arms trade it will be missing the signature of the country that produces the most weapons as the United States refuses to sign, according to Bloomberg.
The prevailing thought is that the treaty would have no chance of getting ratified in the Senate. Even if President Obama were to sign the treaty it would require a majority of two-thirds in order to be ratified in the Senate, a near impossibility. Adotei Akwei of Amnesty International spoke with Bloomberg about how signing the treaty is not a priority for the U.S.
"I suspect they probably took a decision that, politically, it made sense not to completely alienate people in Congress on something that, in their opinion, doesn't matter when they sign it as long as they sign it," Akwei said. "Ratification by the U.S. is a long-term strategy and it can take 10 to 15 years."
Obama has announced that he supported the treaty that requires countries to control the transfer of conventional weapons and regulate arms dealers. Opposition to the bill believes that it will lead to gun expanded gun regulations within the U.S., according to Fox News. To voice their disapproval 130 lawmakers sent a letter to the president and Secretary of State John Kerry explaining their stance.
"As your review of the treaty continues, we strongly encourage your administration to realize its textual, inherent and procedural flaws, to uphold our country's constitutional protections of civilian firearms ownership, and to defend the sovereignty of the United States, and thus to decide not to sign this treaty," the letter read.
The U.S. already follows the majority of the treaty due to having the highest standards in the world for regulating weaponry, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation Thomas Countryman told Bloomberg.
Anna McDonald, head of arms control for the human rights advocacy organization Oxfam, said in a statement that the signing of the treaty would give hopes to the millions in the world affected by gun violence.
"Gunrunners and dictators have been sent a clear message that their time of easy access to weapons is up," McDonald said. "For generations the arms trade has been shrouded in secrecy, but from now on it will be open to scrutiny.
The treaty is expected to be signed by at least 60 nations including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Mexico, according to the Associated Press.
