Corker Reiterates Strong Opposition to Arms Trade Treaty
Senator Says He Will Work With Colleagues To “Protect the Rights of Americans”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today reiterated his strong opposition to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty after the Obama administration submitted the treaty to the Senate. Corker was among a bipartisan group of 53 senators who voted in favor of an amendment in 2013 to protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights and prevent the U.S. from entering into the treaty.
“Since 2012, many senators, including myself, have expressed opposition to the small arms treaty, citing an array of concerns with Second Amendment rights,” said Corker. “Nothing has changed over the last four years to suggest the treaty is in our national interest, and it will remain dead in the water. I reiterate my strong opposition and will work with my colleagues to protect the rights of Americans.”
In September 2013, Corker sent a letter to President Obama warning against any attempt by the administration to implement the treaty without the Senate’s advice and consent. The following month, he joined a separate letter to the president signed by 50 senators that expressed strong opposition to the administration’s decision to sign the treaty given a range of policy and constitutional concerns.
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