Letters against gun meeting swamp U.N.

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NEW YORK -- U.N. officials have received more than 100,000 letters, many of them generated by a National Rifle Association campaign, protesting a U.N. forum on illicit small arms that starts Monday and runs through July Fourth.

"The 4th of July is America's most revered national holiday. Yet, you have nevertheless chosen that day to meet at the U.N., on American soil, in your drive to ban civilian firearm ownership worldwide. In doing so, you have placed the U.N. squarely on the side of freedom's enemies," reads a form letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan made available on an NRA Web site (www.stopungunban.org).

Another sample letter, addressed to Sri Lankan Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, who will preside over the conference, says: "The American people will never let you take away the rights that our 4th of July holiday represents. Our freedoms are not to blame for the world's problems, and this is a battle you can never win."

Mr. Kariyawasam, who sought to allay American concerns at a press conference this week, said he had received more than 100,000 such letters "from the U.S. public, saying you're having this meeting on the Fourth of July, and you will not take our guns away on this day."

Mr. Kariyawasam insisted that the timing of the two-week Small Arms Review Conference was purely coincidental and that the conferees would not discuss the legal possession, manufacture or transfer of weapons.

The main page of the NRA Web site says the purpose of the conference is "to finalize a U.N. treaty that would strip all citizens of all nations of their right to self-protection, and strip you of your rights under the Second Amendment."

No treaty is up for discussion.

Mr. Kariyawasam said, "Some members of the U.S. public are totally misinformed. This conference is about illegal weapons."

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, said in an interview last night that the letter-writing campaign was important to show U.N. officials they cannot take away the individual's right to self-protection.

"I've seen their statements that say it's only illegal guns and illegal trading," he said. "But the U.S. specifically tried to narrow this U.N. conference down to military style machine guns, and that was rejected. They are talking about every rifle, shotgun and handgun."