United Nations Arms Trade Treaty: Guns, Guns, Guns!

We all want to feel safe but what does it means to be safe and how would you obtain this safety? Guns have been known to be lifesaving and induce a feeling of security. However, they can also be dangerous and evoke immense fear. Because of this, guns are a highly controversial issue. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms from infringement. As an individual who supports the Second Amendment, I figured the blog Senate Wins Big Victory for 2nd Amendment would be an interesting read. 

Recently, the tragic events caused by unstable individuals who used guns to take innocent lives has brought the issue of gun control to the publics attention once again. In this particular blog, Katie Kieffer writes about a multilateral treaty that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons called United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Her blog opens with, “U.S. Senators—both Democrats and Republicans—have pledged to stop Obama’s latest attack on the Second Amendment,” which also happens to sum up the blog nicely. It sounds like a victory for the Second Amendment but what exactly did the U.S Senators save it from? How was the ATT threatening the Second Amendment? 

In Katie Kieffer’s blog, she provides a link to an article called GUN OWNERS: Don’t Let Obama Sign UN Arms Trade Treaty, written by Katie Kieffer herself. This article describes how the Arms Trade Treaty threatens gun owners. Katie claims that a “National Control List” would be established which would enable all governments the ability to know anyone and everyone who owns a gun. Joe Wolverton of The New American shines more light on the ATT reporting, “Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Arms Trade Treaty give the UN the authority to apprehend the right of private citizens to own, buy, sell, trade, or transfer all means of armed resistance, including handguns. Ammunition, parts and components also fall under UN purview.” 

I was convinced by Kieffer and Wolverton, however, because of the bias tones, I was obligated to continue my research for a neutral source which was purely information based. The article Explainer: What Is The United Nations Arms Trade Treaty? could not have a more unbiased title. To my surprise, this article seems to promote the ATT. According to Richard Solash, the ATT seeks to, “Call for potential arms deals to be evaluated in order to determine whether they might enable buyers to carry out genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.” And, “To prevent conventional military weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists or organized criminal groups, and to stop deals that would violate UN arms embargos.” Solash uses “human rights records” to describe what Kieffer describes as the “Control List.” 

I found Kieffer’s blog to be very concise and convincing. Additional questions were quickly answered through her effective use of embedded links. Kieffer’s writing was very coherent and informative. I found the official United Nations website requires much improvement. It was difficult to navigate through and I would describe the site as vague and misleading. 

Government Shutdown: If You Haven't Heard Enough About it Already...

The United States federal government shutdown of 2013 has become the unavoidable topic of discussion everywhere. With all the commotion, most of my peers either try to avoid all the mainstream media or joke about it without any actual knowledge on the matter. However, with all the misunderstandings and misinterpretations, I took it upon myself to learn more about the shutdown.

A government shutdown is not the end of government as the name might suggest. The shutdown is simply the temporary suspension of non-emergency services. This process has occurred several times in the past, so it is nothing new. The current shutdown was caused by issues on the Affordable Care Act. 

After having a better idea of what was going on, I wanted to know more about Texas's involvement. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has an interesting part in the issue. Ted Cruz’s efforts to filibuster the healthcare law is controversial. This editorial believes Ted Cruz’s filibuster attempt was a tremendous waste of time and the time should have been used being more productive. This editorial believes Ted Cruz is driven by self-interest and is detrimental to Texas. Jeff Judson disagrees. Although he never says in his commentary that he supports Ted Cruz, he is opposed to the ACA policy and believes in “Someone in Congress standing up and speaking, reflecting the mood of real people back home.” Whether you are for or against Obamacare, it is moving forward. 

A controversy of this magnitude, pointing fingers is inevitable, from blaming congress to blaming Obama, Democrats, and the tea party. Rick Casey even wrote his commentary on how the Texas Legislature is better than Congress. I can feel the Texas pride emanating from his commentary. 

I do not have a deep enough understanding of government to have a clear and definite opinion on the issue of the current government shutdown. However, I discovered that how the commentary or editorial was written is more important than the actual information provided. For example, the commentary by Froma Harrop blames the republicans. Harrop’s commentary was written very informally, with phrases such as “Is cool with” and “Here’s a happy ending.” She also made a remark, if I’m not mistaking, joking about how the significance of the government shutdown is to keep the “panda cam” open. The sarcastic and slightly hostile tone was not appealing to me. I found Stephen Amberg’s commentary much more compelling. His writing is very professional. He provided relevant information, expressed genuineness, and a seemingly unbiased opinion.

Additional References 
Government shutdown in the United States." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.
United States federal government shutdown of 2013." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.