Trump: Thanks for defending
Donald Trump offered the National Rifle Association a treat, if not really a surprise, in his speech at their annual meeting. After thanking the NRA for their efforts to “stand up for our God-given rights — without exception, without fail, and without apology,” he turned his attention to one of their top concerns. The president announced a withdrawal from a UN arms trade treaty signed by the Obama administration. Trump called the announcement a surprise, but it was telegraphed enough by the White House to get noticed by Reuters and the Washington Post:
President Donald Trump on Friday was expected to announce his intention to revoke the United States’ status as a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, which was signed in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama but never ratified by Congress, two U. S. officials said.
Trump was expected to announce the decision in a speech in Indianapolis, to the National Rifle Association, the officials said. The NRA, a powerful gun lobby group, has long been opposed to the treaty, which was negotiated at the United Nations.
The Post called it part of Trump’s distrust of international treaties, but the language of this particular treaty has long concerned gun owners in the US. That’s why it languished in the Senate even while Democrats (briefly) controlled the upper chamber after the Obama administration became a signatory to it:
The NRA and other opponents of the treaty argue that it is ineffective and, more importantly, poses a threat to Americans’ Second Amendment rights by potentially subjecting domestic gun ownership to internationally drafted rules.
