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International & United Nations Gun Control

NRA has been engaged at the United Nations and elsewhere internationally in response to overreaching small arms initiatives for two decades. During this time, we have been actively opposing transnational efforts that would limit Americans’ Second Amendment freedoms. NRA has been a recognized Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations since 1996. Our status as an NGO allows us to closely monitor the internal UN debate over firearm issues and report back to our members.

The most pressing international threat to U.S. gun owners is the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Among its most egregious provisions, the treaty encourages national recordkeeping requirements for “end users” of covered arms (including firearms), and suggests that national governments share such records. Further, the ATT compels countries to make arms import and export decisions based upon a trading partner’s willingness to abide by the treaty’s requirements, which could isolate the United States from legitimate trade in arms or force it to adopt restrictions detrimental to Second Amendment rights. During the drafting phase, NRA vigorously advocated for civilian firearm ownership be removed from the treaty’s scope. Those recommendations were ignored, meaning U.S. firearms policy could become the rest of the world’s business and subject to its approval, on pain of trade restrictions if it doesn’t meet “international norms.”

Secretary of State John Kerry signed the ATT on behalf of the U.S. on September 25, 2013. NRA continues to work with its Senate allies to prevent ratification or implementation of the treaty in the U.S.

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ATT Meeting Confirms Worst Fears for International Gun Control

News  

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

ATT Meeting Confirms Worst Fears for International Gun Control

Amidst ongoing wars in Ukraine and Yemen, China posturing in the Taiwan Strait, and increasing instability in the ...

The Washington Times  

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Taking Aim at the Arms Trade Treaty

Some of the most notable policy victories take time — and they seldom generate banner headlines. Take the ...

Breitbart  

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Bolsonaro Expands Brazilian Gun Rights with Executive Order

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro kept one of his campaign promises on Tuesday by signing an executive order to ...

What “Unsigning” the Arms Trade Treaty Means for American Gun Owners

News  

Friday, May 3, 2019

What “Unsigning” the Arms Trade Treaty Means for American Gun Owners

Last Friday, President Trump took the historic step of ordering the “unsigning” of the United Nations Arms Trade ...

MSNBC Reporter Unwittingly Discovers the Importance of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

News  

Friday, May 3, 2019

MSNBC Reporter Unwittingly Discovers the Importance of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Sometimes even the worst of the media inadvertently stumbles upon the truth. On April 30th, MSNBC reported that ...

Swiss Politician Attacks Military Officers' Association Over Pro-Rights Stance

News  

Friday, May 3, 2019

Swiss Politician Attacks Military Officers' Association Over Pro-Rights Stance

As NRA-ILA previously reported, on May 19 Swiss citizens will vote in a referendum to determine whether the idyllic and well-armed mountain nation ...

Fox News  

Thursday, May 2, 2019

MSNBC reporter says if Venezuelan military 'have the guns they have the power'

A journalist reporting on the crisis in Venezuela Tuesday said the efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro are ...

Report: UK Gun Owner Loses Licenses Over Social Media Presence

News  

Monday, April 29, 2019

Report: UK Gun Owner Loses Licenses Over Social Media Presence

In 2016, UK shooter and popular YouTube gun channel personality Callum Long-Collins told the BBC, “Being British and ...

President Trump Withdraws U.S. from United Nations Arms Trade Treaty

News  

Monday, April 29, 2019

President Trump Withdraws U.S. from United Nations Arms Trade Treaty

During his speech to the 2019 NRA-ILA Leadership Forum, President Trump announced that he would “unsign” the United Nations Arms ...

USA Today  

Monday, April 29, 2019

Trump reverses U.S. course on Arms Trade Treaty during speech at NRA in Indianapolis

President Donald Trump said Friday that he would pull out of the Arms Trade Treaty, a global 2014 pact ...

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.