Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL) has drafted a bill that would block U.S. funding to the United Nations if it seeks to implement gun control measures affecting U.S. citizens.

Despite victories by gun owners in elections and legislative battles throughout the country in recent years, on the international front gun control is moving quickly.

Most significantly, in 2012 the UN plans to release a final draft of the Arms Trade Treaty—a treaty that will have severe consequences for American gun owners.

Meetings are held behind close doors, but from information gathered by GOA we believe that the ATT will, at the very least, require gun owner registration and microstamping of ammunition.

The ATT will define manufacturing so broadly that any gun owner who adds an accessory such as a scope or changes a stock on a firearm would be required to obtain a manufacturing license.

It would also likely include a ban on many semi-automatic firearms (like the Clinton gun ban) and demand the mandatory destruction of surplus ammo and confiscated firearms.

President Obama, not surprisingly, welcomes the treaty.  He knows that he is unlikely to get such radical proposals through the Congress, so the UN provides him a backdoor way to enact gun control.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also on board and began pushing for the treaty as soon as she was confirmed in her position.  “The United States is prepared to work hard for a strong international standard in this area,” she said.

Since treaties must be ratified by the Senate, GOA is working continually to buck up weak-kneed Senators who might be pressured to ratify the treaty.

But the House, which controls the nations’ purse strings, can also play a role in killing the ATT (or any other anti-gun treaty, for that matter).

Rep. Joe Walsh’s legislation will cut U.S. funding to the UN if the international body imposes any restrictions on Americans’ gun rights.

This is a huge deal, because without the contributions of the United States, the UN would be crippled financially.  According to government reports, U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for 22 percent of the UN’s regular budget and 27 percent of its “peacekeeping” budget.

American gun owners, in other words, are funding the organization that wants to do away with the Second Amendment!

Rep. Walsh is putting the UN on notice: back off our gun rights.

Entitled the “The Second Amendment Protection Act of 2011,” Rep. Walsh is now seeking original cosponsors to join him in the House.  He plans to introduce the bill within the next week.

Rep. Walsh highlights for his House colleagues the necessity of his proposal, noting that:

• It is the constitutional power of Congress to determine United States foreign policy through the ratification of international treaties;
• U.S. Presidents, by signing on to treaties, have opened the door for international organizations to unilaterally regulate the lives of citizens of the United States;
• International and transnational organizations force their rules on people of the United States through conventions, multilateral agreements, and nonratified treaties, such as agreements that affect the private ownership of firearms by law-abiding citizens; and
• United States sovereignty is risked by domestic legal applicability of international treaties and executive agreements that have not been voted on and congressionally adopted through formal processes.

Let’s help Rep. Joe Walsh get as many cosponsors as possible.  In the process, we’ll find out how many Representatives are willing to stand up to the behemoth United Nations in defense of the Second Amendment.

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A bill promising the most significant expansion of national gun rights since the current gun control regime began with the Handgun Control Act of 1968, passed the House 272 to 154 November 16 at 5:50 p.m. after two days of debate.

“The right to defend yourself and your loved ones from criminals is fundamental, and it should not be extinguished when you cross a state border,” said Rep. Clifford B. Stearns (R.-FL), who lead the fight with his co-sponsor Rep. J. Heath Shuler (D.-N.C.), a leader of the caucus of moderate Democrats known as the Blue Dogs.

“H.R. 822, the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act, recognizes this important fact by establishing the interstate recognition of concealed carry permits in much the same way driver’s licenses are recognized,” said Stearns.

“Although 49 states issue these permits and many have reciprocity agreements with other states, the lack of uniformity makes it hard for law-abiding permit holders to know for sure if they are obeying the law as they travel from state to state,” he said.

“This legislation will simply make it far easier for law-abiding permit holders to know they are in compliance with the law when they carry a firearm as they travel,” he said.

Despite the mix of Democrats and Republicans voting for the bill, there have been critics.

On the Left, Sen. Scott P. Brown (R.-Mass.), who won a special election to succeed Edward M. Kennedy Sr., a ferocious opponent of gun rights after two of his brothers were cut down by assassin bullets, sent a November 3 “Dear Friend” letter to Bay State mayors assuring them that he would oppose the bill if the matter came before the Senate.

Brown, who was endorsed and strongly supported in his election by the National Rifle Association, echoed the arguments of other liberals when he called the bill a violation of states’ rights.

Christopher W. Cox, the executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, said, “NRA has made the
National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act a priority because it enhances the fundamental right to self-defense guaranteed to all law-abiding people.”

Cox said the reciprocity for regular people should be as easy as the current practice between states for recognizing carry permits held by armored car guards.

“People are not immune from crime when they cross state lines. That is why it is vital for them to be able to defend themselves and their loved ones should the need arise,” he said.

Another gun rights organization, Gun Owners of America, had concerns about the bill, preferring H.R. 2900, sponsored by Rep. Paul Broun (R.-Ga.).

One problem with H.R. 822 is that it destroys “Vermont Carry,” said John Velleco, GOA’s director of federal affairs.

“In Vermont, it has long been the case that law-abiding residents and non-residents alike could carry a concealed firearm, except for use in the commission of a crime,” he said. “The state, incidentally, also has the distinction of consistently being ranked one of the safest states in the country.”

The problem is that because there is no permit, there is nothing for another state to recognize, he said.

Broun’s bill would allow the Vermont driver’s license to suffice, he said.

Another problem is that constitutionally, the Stearns-Shuler bill relies on the Commerce Clause, and the bill’s authority is grounded in the act of transporting guns across interstate lines being classified as commerce, he said. This stretch opens the legislation to court challenge.

The Broun bill is grounded in the Second Amendment, he said.

“H.R. 822 would certainly benefit many Americans, although that number represents only a small fraction of all gun owners. But the bill has several deep flaws that could be fixed by Broun’s legislation,” Velleco said.

To mitigate to flaws in the Stearns-Shuler bill, GOA supported an amendment by Rep. W. Robert “Rob” Woodall III (R.-Ga.), which would assert that existing arrangements between states, such as 40 states have with each other, would supersede federal standards of reciprocity regulations, he said.

“This will help to ensure that states are not deterred from seeking out reciprocity agreements and it acts as a check against future federal abuse of the nation’s gun laws,” he said.

Now it is the Senate’s turn to act.

All eyes are Sen. John R. Thune (R.-S.D.). Thune attempted to gain Senate approval for reciprocity for national concealed carry in the last session of Congress with legislation very close to the language in the Broun bill. Ultimately, however, Thune fell two votes short of the 60 votes he needed to end a Democratic filibuster.

Neil W. McCabe is the editor of Guns & Patriots. McCabe, was a reporter and photographer at The Pilot, Boston’s Catholic newspaper for several years. An Army reservist, he served 14 months in Iraq as a combat historian. Follow him on  Twitter