Date: July 16, 2001      

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Cyril Boynes, Jr.

(212) 598-4000

Hon. Roy Innis Serving on

U.S. Delegation to U.N. Arms Conference

          Mr. Roy Innis, National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), is currently serving on President Bush’s delegation to the “United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects,” which began on July 9 and will run to July 20.   

          The conference is focusing on the devastating effect that these illicit arms have as the weapons of choice in many small but destructive wars being waged throughout the world.  Mr. Innis’ expertise on the Second Amendment, which protects gun ownership rights in the U.S., as well as his extensive knowledge of the current political climate in Africa, where these illicit weapons are of particular concern, were largely what prompted the President to select Mr. Innis to serve on the delegation.

         Given the variety of opinions present at the conference, it is unlikely that the nations involved will agree on many practical, universally acceptable measures to solve the problem of illicit weapons.  While some nations favor the creation of laws that could endanger the legal sale and ownership of small arms such as rifles and pistols, the United States is attempting to stake out a position that both reduces the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, while at the same time protects constitutional gun ownership rights. 

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