Texas AG to Obama: I’ll sue if U.N. Arms Treaty is ratified

[link to www.washingtontimes.com]

Mr. Abbott goes on to write that the U.N. “cannot be trusted” with the United States’ Bill of Rights, and that it includes “foreign governments that have shown hostility to the kinds of constitutional liberties guaranteed to Americans. All Americans are harmed when unaccountable international bodies like the UN are empowered to interfere with our protected freedoms.”


“If the UN Arms Trade Treaty is not stopped at the federal level, I — and my fellow state attorneys general — will take up the fight to preserve the Constitution. Ratification of this treaty would compel immediate legal action to enforce the Constitution’s guarantee that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” he concluded.

[link to www.texasgopvote.com]

Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement today, "As the United States has required from the onset of these negotiations, nothing in this treaty could ever infringe on the rights of American citizens under our domestic law or the Constitution, including the Second Amendment."


Gen. Abbott strongly disagrees and is prepared to defend the rights of Texans and all Americans by suing the federal government in court should the treaty be signed and ratified. He cited Reid v Covert, a 1957 case before the U.S. Supreme Court where the court held that the United States cannot use its treaty powers to violate Constitutional rights. "When the Constitution says 'the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,' that means no one - including the U.N. - can infringe on that right." Abbott said.


In a letter to President Obama today, Gen. Abbott stated, "Treaties do not trump constitutional liberties. Even if you, as the President, signed and the Senate ratified the UN Arms Trade Treaty, our Constitution remains the Supreme Law of the Land and would supersede any treaty provision that violated Second Amendment rights."

[link to www.texasgopvote.com]

In a statement today, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said, "The UN Arms Treaty should be rejected outright by the U.S. Senate. It is international gun regulation, plain and simple, and it must never be ratified." Cruz' Press Secretary told TexasGOPVote today that Sen. Cruz has signed on to Sen. Jerry Moran's Senate Resolution 7, a bipartisan resolution which states the U.N. Arms Control treaty clearly infringes on Constitutional liberties and will not be ratified by the Senate. The resolution already has 33 signers, which is enough to block ratification of the treaty.

Abbott says this is a Red Flag Alert. Now is the time for Sen. Harry Reid to earn his endorsement from the NRA and block this treaty. But failing that, we, as American citizens and defenders of our liberty, must now be vigilant and keep pressure on the U.S. Senate to make certain they do the right thing. If they do not, Gen. Abbott is poised to strike in our defense. With Gen. Abbott on our side, I like our odds!

I hope they sue and other states will follow