President Trump took the occasion of his speech to a meeting of the National Rifle Association in Indianapolis Friday to further isolate the U.S. from our our allies.
The Washington Post reported Trump's announcement before the NRA that he will "un-sign" the global arms pact known as the Arms Trade Treaty. This fits with his aversion to international pacts and world governance, according to the Post, which quoted Trump as saying "We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedom."
As the article goes on to explain, this treaty, was originated during the George W. Bush administration, signed by the Obama administration, but Congress has never ratified the treaty. The purpose of the treaty is to set "international rules for sales and transfers of everything from small arms to large planes and ships" to other countries. It "seeks to prevent illicit arms transfers that fuel destructive conflicts, making it harder to conduct weapon sales in violation of arms embargoes."
About 100 countries including U.S. allies in Europe have ratified the treaty. But our lack of ratification puts us in the category with Russia, North Korea, and Syria.
Of course, Trump's invoking the second amendment was red meat politically for his base; and the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action spokesman Chris Cox praised the decision, saying it "gave NRA members one more reason to enthusiastically support his presidency" [and presumbaly his re-election.]
If Democrats don't get their act together and handle this right, we could wind up with four more years of Donald J. Trump's destruction of what took generations to build -- a nation based on freedom and values that made us the moral world leader. We've already lost that position under the Trump presidency. But there is more to lose.
Ralph
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