Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ALISON LITTELL MCHOSE

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL

District 25 (Morris and Somerset)

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. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested to by the Clerk of the General Assembly, shall be transmitted 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.