The Washington Independent is reporting that, one month after successfully tucking an amendment into the credit card reform bill that expanded gun rights, a small number of Senate Republicans are looking at the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as another chance to score a victory for the Second Amendment.

This time, the goal would be to establish nationwide reciprocity for concealed carry laws.

By Michael P. Farris

The vast majority of Americans, regardless of their opinions on the increasing scope of international law, agree with the proposition that children should not be used as soldiers. Accordingly, much of the UN literature that addresses children and guns deals with this military-related issue.

However, a second theme is quickly found in virtually all UN pronouncements about child soldiers and weapons. UN child's rights advocates believe, teach, and promote the idea that all private gun-ownership is dangerous for children, and that children have the right to grow up in a community that is free from all guns.

As the campaign to seek ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child intensifies, it is important for all Americans to understand the application of this children's rights treaty to the issue of private gun ownership by American citizens.