The U.S. Senate voted 53-46 to stop the United States government from “signing on” to a controversial United Nations Treaty on arms sales. Though negotiations on a U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that would regulate international arms sales are slated to end on March 28, an amendment to the Senate’s budget resolution introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is intended to prevent the United States from entering into the treaty.
Inhofe stated: “We’re negotiating a treaty that cedes our authority to have trade agreements with our allies in terms of trading arms. This is probably the last time this year that you’ll be able to vote for your Second Amendment rights.”
Despite President Obama saying he would not vote for anything that would violate the Second Amendment, criticism over his decision to even consider the Treaty prompted the Senate vote on the Inhofe Amendment, which passed by a 53-46 margin.
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On July 14th, NRA Executive V.P. and CEO Wayne LaPierre addressed the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty Conference in New York. You can see his presentation in the video below.
LaPierre stated: “No foreign influence has jurisdiction over the freedoms our Founding Fathers guaranteed to us….Without apology, the NRA wants no part of any treaty that infringes on the precious right of lawful Americans to keep and bear arms.” LaPierre specifically called for the exclusion of civilian arms from the Treaty’s coverage: “It is regrettable that proposals affecting civilian firearms ownership are woven throughout the proposed ATT [Arms Trade Treaty]. That being the case, however, there is only one solution to this problem: the complete removal of civilian firearms from the scope of any ATT … civilian firearms must not be part of any ATT. On this there can be no compromise, as American gun owners will never surrender their Second Amendment freedom.” LaPierre concluded: “The cornerstone of our freedom is the Second Amendment. Neither the United Nations, nor any other foreign influence, has the authority to meddle with the freedoms guaranteed by our Bill of Rights, endowed by our Creator, and due to all humankind.”
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) issued the following statement:
SAMMI, a registered United Nations non-governmental organization (NGO) with roster status, has taken the regrettable but necessary step of withdrawing any reference of SAAMI association from the U.N. agency project to create “International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS).”
The goal of ISACS, as stated on the U.N. website is “To develop internationally accepted and validated standards that provide clear and comprehensive guidance to practitioners and policy-makers on small arms and light weapons control.”
SAAMI, being an accredited standards-setting organization, welcomed the opportunity to be part of a standards-setting process which requires rigorous adherence to facts.
“We saw the ISACS as a way to cut through the politics and rhetoric of this issue and get down to core actions that will reduce violence,” says Rick Patterson, Managing Director of SAAMI. “Regrettably, the process has been tainted, expert input has been ignored, and the resulting standards represent nothing more than the opinions of the authors — most of whom are affiliated with NGO’s supporting gun control.”
Because the U.N. has ignored contrary facts and opinions, and quelled debate, the U.N. has done itself — and everyone associated with ISACS — a disservice. They have negatively affected the credibility of all parties involved. For these reasons, SAAMI simply cannot allow its reputation for professionalism, integrity and factual expertise to be associated with the ISACS program.
SAMMI has also issued a lengthy “Minority Report in response to Draft International Small Arms Control Standards Promulgated by the U.N. Coordinating Action in Small Arms (CASA)”. This Minority Report is highly critical of the processes leading to the proposed United Nations International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS). SAAMI’s Minority Report notes that there was a “refusal to consider opposing views” and an “editorial bias during the drafting process.” CLICK HERE to read full SAAMI Minority Report.
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The days of the “ORM-D: Small Arms Cartridges” labels for ammo shipments are numbered. The Dept. of Transportation (DOT) is phasing out the current ORM-D ammo labels, replacing them with a larger striped diamond label that does not mention “Small Arms Cartridges”. This change is designed to harmonize U.S. shipping rules with United Nations standards. You can start using the new “Limited Quantity” diamond labels for ammo shipments immediately, but they are not mandatory — yet. You can continue to use the old ORM-D “Cartridges, Small Arms” labels until December 31, 2013. As of January 1, 2014 you MUST use the Striped Diamonds.
OFFICIAL UPS RULES — Elimination of ORM-D Classification In an attempt to harmonize and align with international standards, the DOT has amended the 49CFR regulations regarding the ORM-D classification. Effective January 19, 2011, with the publication of the HM-215K final rule, the hazard class of ORM-D is being eliminated. Those materials may still be shipped classified as a limited quantity (“Ltd Qty”). In conjunction with ORM-D hazard class elimination in HM-215K, limited quantity ground shipments will no longer require shipping papers when prepared under the new rule. This includes those materials previously classed as Ltd Qty that required shipping papers via ground transport.
Ground Ltd Qty Marking
Air Ltd Qty Marking
NOTE: These illustrations are not true to scale. The actual default Ltd Qty Diamond label to be used for ammo shipments is much larger, about 5″ per side. A smaller 2″ per side version of the Ltd Qty striped diamond can be used on smaller packages.
There is a transition period for shippers to comply with the new classification, marking and labeling requirements. Until December 31, 2013 a limited quantity package containing a consumer commodity as defined in 171.8 may be reclassed as ORM-D, or until December 31, 2012 for ORM-D-Air material. UPS began accepting materials with the new markings effective April 1, 2011. Note: To be in compliance with TDG, Standard (ground) Ltd Qty shipments to Canada prepared under HM-215K require the verbiage ‘Limited quantity’ or ‘Ltd qty’ to also be marked on the carton.
Download OLD and NEW Label Formats
On the Parallax Curio and Relic Forum, a thread includes PDF samples of both the new Diamond Ltd Qty Labels and the current ORM-D Labels. The thread explains: “The good news is the new label doesn’t have any indicator that the package contains ammunition. The bad news is the new label is gigantic compared to the old ORM-D label. You are required to use one of the larger labels on one side of any package containing ammunition. If the package is too small for one of the larger labels then you are permitted to use one of the smaller labels instead. Because of the size requirement in the regulations, you only get two of each label on standard piece of printer paper.”
If you want to still use the ORM-D Small Arm Cartridges Labels until the new Diamond Labels are mandatory, here are links to PDF sheets of ORM-D labels. These PDFs have many rows of labels per page so you can save printer paper. The black version and blue version will use up more printer ink, so you might want to use the white version to be more economical.
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Story by Larry Keane, NSSF Since the early 1970s, ammunition being shipped in the United States has been classified under “Other Regulated Materials” — class D (ORM-D) regulations. This precludes the need for hazardous material (HazMat) shipping charges and other expensive handling requirements. The savings to the industry has been estimated at more than $300 million per year.
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) recognized a potential risk of losing ORM-D status due to the emerging “global harmonization” of shipping regulations. Simply put, the U.S. was likely to adopt United Nations (UN) regulations in an attempt to help ease the global shipping process by adhering to one uniform policy. The problem with shifting to UN regulations is that there is no “ORM-D” status, so if/when this happened, ammunition would have to be shipped under the UN 1.4s category — a category that includes HazMat fees.
SAAMI petitioned the world body to change its shipping regulations to allow for a Limited Quantity (LQ) exemption for class 1.4s products that meet certain testing criteria. Then, SAAMI proved that ammunition meets these criteria. The LQ exemption for loaded ammunition would allow countries to adopt regulations very similar to the current U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) ORM-D classification, yet still be in alignment with global shipping regulations.
‘LQ’ Ammo Shipping Class Will Replace ‘ORM-D’
The UN has adopted SAAMI’s petition and the new international regulation have become final. In the meantime, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) has announced sweeping changes to U.S. regulations that will harmonize them with the international regulations. Included in these upcoming changes are the elimination of ORM-D status and the addition of the LQ exemption for ammunition . The net result is that while the regulations will change, shipment of ammunition in the U.S will continue without additional fees and handling requirements. So you will still be able to ship loaded ammo with NO Haz-Mat Fees, but in the future, the ORM-D status will change to LQ exempt status.
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Heard of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities (WFSA)? Probably not. But this international consortium has been working to preserve the freedom to own and use sporting firearms worldwide. Steve Sanetti, President of the U.S.-based National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), explains that hunters and shooters around the world rely on WFSA to protect their rights, though they may not know it. “The average hunter or sport shooter in America, Italy or any other place . . . is only vaguely aware of what is in store for us in this new globalized environment.” According to Sanetti, the WFSA plays a vital role in monitoring international threats, such as environmental bans on traditional ammunition, which can affect shooting sports worldwide.
With politically powerful forces (including the U.N.) pushing to curtail gun ownership internationally, the WFSA helps national gun owners’ organizations respond to such threats. Over the past year, WFSA has had many successes, but the WFSA faces big challenges ahead: the Int’l Arms Trade Treaty, the U.N. Firearms Protocol, efforts to establish international small arms control standards, environmental restrictions on ammunition and reloading components, and attempts to ban ownership of firearms.
The WFSA’s annual meeting took place recently at the IWA trade show in Nuremberg, Germany. There, Sanetti called for the WFSA to become a bigger, more powerful organization so it can better represent the concerns of more than 100 million sport shooters worldwide.
WFSA Works to Halt Semi-Auto Gun Ban in Finland
“Last month . . . a government commission in Finland recommended the banning of all semi-automatic handguns — 200,000 of the 600,000 guns legally possessed by the citizens of Finland,” said Sanetti. “This was shocking . . . and it could be a portent of things to come.” He pointed out that firearms used in the Olympics, for waterfowl shooting and for target shooting all share the same basic semi-automatic action. “We cannot fall into the trap of saying that certain guns are good and certain guns are bad,” emphasized Sanetti. The WFSA’s Project on Myths works to counter this and other distortions about firearms and their use. To learn more about the WFSA, visit www.WFSA.net.
As many of you know, there is a concerted effort in the United Nations to adopt an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) regulating civilian small arms. The Treaty would extend, and make binding, the restrictions of the U.N. Firearms Protocol adopted in 2004. This effort has been lead by the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), funded by billionaire George Soros. IANSA’s director is Rebecca Peters, a radical anti-gunner from Australia. Under Peters’ leadership, anti-gun coalitions convinced Australian politicians to ban semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, as well as confiscate and destroy nearly 700,000 weapons.
The proposed international small arms treaty has been pushed by representatives of many foreign nations. Related efforts to restrict civilian arms have been supported by European countries, such as Great Britain, which donated $2,000,000 to IANSA in 2001.
The details of this story are revealed in the video below, produced by NRANews. The video is an advocacy piece opposing interference by the United Nations and other countries in U.S. firearms policies. Keep in mind that this NRA video is deliberately alarmist — it intends to make the situation appear more dire than it may truly be… for now. Blue-helmeted storm troopers are not going to break down your door tomorrow.
Nonetheless, the video reveals many important facts which American gun owners should understand. This video includes interviews with leaders of gun rights groups in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Their experiences are very telling… they have seen the effect of sweeping gun confiscations. The producers of this video believe that an international treaty could defeat Second Amendment rights in the United States. That may be an extremist view — the Constitution would still remain the law of the land. But the video is worth watching.
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The U.S. Senate voted 53-46 to stop the United States government from “signing on” to a controversial United Nations Treaty on arms sales. Though negotiations on a U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that would regulate international arms sales are slated to end on March 28, an amendment to the Senate’s budget resolution introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is intended to prevent the United States from entering into the treaty.
On July 14th, NRA Executive V.P. and CEO Wayne LaPierre addressed the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty Conference in New York. You can see his presentation in the video below.
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) issued the following statement:
In an attempt to harmonize and align with international standards, the DOT has amended the 49CFR regulations regarding the ORM-D classification. Effective January 19, 2011, with the publication of the HM-215K final rule, the hazard class of ORM-D is being eliminated. Those materials may still be shipped classified as a limited quantity (“Ltd Qty”). In conjunction with ORM-D hazard class elimination in HM-215K, limited quantity ground shipments will no longer require shipping papers when prepared under the new rule. This includes those materials previously classed as Ltd Qty that required shipping papers via ground transport.
Since the early 1970s, ammunition being shipped in the United States has been classified under “Other Regulated Materials” — class D (ORM-D) regulations. This precludes the need for hazardous material (HazMat) shipping charges and other expensive handling requirements. The savings to the industry has been estimated at more than $300 million per year.
SAAMI petitioned the world body to change its shipping regulations to allow for a Limited Quantity (LQ) exemption for class 1.4s products that meet certain testing criteria. Then, SAAMI proved that ammunition meets these criteria. The LQ exemption for loaded ammunition would allow countries to adopt regulations very similar to the current U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) ORM-D classification, yet still be in alignment with global shipping regulations.
Heard of the 
As many of you know, there is a concerted effort in the United Nations to adopt an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) regulating civilian small arms. The Treaty would extend, and make binding, the restrictions of the 
