Rumor Control: U.N. "Disarmament" Memo

As attacks on our Second Amendment rights continue, there is typically a corresponding uptick in the number of internet rumors concerning firearms, ammunition, and gun-control measures.

The latest rumor involves the United Nations, a group that indeed poses an ongoing potential threat to our Second Amendment rights. However, this rumor was highly suspect right from the start.

Pictures of the alleged document show that it originated in the very ominous sounding "United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs." The document is on official looking letterhead and includes a bar code and QR code. The equally ominous sounding title of the article reads: "Disarmament Commission -- Civilian Weapons Confiscation Study Group."

As reported in The Examiner, the August 5th document says its distribution is "restricted," and outlines a seven‑stage strategy for making civilian possession of "military grade weapons" illegal, progressing down to outlawing all firearms and ammunition, and ultimately establishing "a United Nations Police Taskforce with the specific mission of assisting member nations with the collection of weapons from civilian hands."

The document states: "The issue of military grade weaponry in the hands of civilians looms ever larger in the face of the global implementation of 22/Agenda 21 by member nations. In particular, the United States of America has an estimated 500 million weapons in the hands of its civilian population. This is not just a static problem, it is a massive dynamic problem for the process of confiscation as there will be those who refuse to surrender their firearms.

"The conclusion of discussions by the CWCSG led to the adoption of a proposed agenda to begin the process for introducing to member nations a framework by which they can begin codification of national laws to disarm civilians within their borders through a graduated process.

Now, the good news: According to a PolitiFact article, a U.N. spokesman has declared the document a fake.

"I checked the document number on our internal document system, and the reply I got back now was simply, 'There is no document matching your request,' said Farhan Haq, associate spokesperson for the Secretary-General. "The document number (A/CN.11/L.72) doesn't conform to our standard system, in any case."

In addition, Haq said, "there is no such body as a 'Civilian Weapons Confiscation Study Group.' Nor does the United Nations involve itself in confiscating weapons from member states."

Finally, Haq said, "the use of blue ink, some of the type font and the scanner icon in the bottom right-hand corner are not found in real U.N. documents. So, in several different ways, this document is fake."

Whether or not you trust PolitiFact's findings, we do know that in the past, U.N. delegates have diligently tried to draft documents that conceal the U.N.'s anti-gun agenda. That being the case, the extremely overt nature of this latest document makes it all the more implausible.

As we've pointed out before, a degree of skepticism regarding these sorts of rumors is healthy and necessary. Gun owners should resist the urge to forward, and thereby propagate, these rumors before verifying their authenticity. As always, the truth should be our standard. Today, more than ever, there are more than enough actual threats to the Second Amendment to keep gun owners actively engaged in the fight for our rights.

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