Public law 87-297, the Arms Control and Disarmament Act signed by President Kennedy in 1961, provides an impetus to not only ban civilian firearm ownership but to also transfer control of the U.S. military to the United Nations.

“It is the purpose of this Act to provide impetus toward this goal by creating a new agency of peace to deal with the problem of reduction and control of armaments looking toward ultimate world disarmament,” the law states.

Public Law 87-297

The law was based primarily on State Department Publication 7277, The United States Program for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World, which advocates the complete disarmament of every country in favor of a permanent U.N. military force:

DISARMAMENT GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

The over-all goal of the United States is a free, secure, and peaceful world of independent states adhering to common standards of justice and international conduct and subjecting the use of force to the rule of law; a world which has achieved general and complete disarmament under effective international control; and a world in which adjustment to change takes place in accordance with the principles of the United Nations.

In order to make possible the achievement of that goal, the program sets forth the following specific objectives toward which nations should direct their efforts:

The disbanding of all national armed forces and the prohibition of their reestablishment in any form whatsoever other than those required to preserve internal order and for contributions to a United Nations Peace Force;
The elimination from national arsenals of all armaments, including all weapons of mass destruction and the means for their delivery, other than those required for a United Nations Peace Force and for maintaining internal order;
The institution of effective means for the enforcement of international agreements, for the settlement of disputes, and for the maintenance of peace in accordance with the principles of the United Nations;
The establishment and effective operation of an International Disarmament Organization within the framework of the United Nations to insure compliance at all times with all disarmament obligations.

Department of State Publication 7277 Dtd 1961 by SFCWizard77

Since public law 87-297 was enacted, just about every president has worked to enact its provisions, including President Obama who signed a U.N. arms trade treaty which was rejected by the Senate.

“The right to own, buy, sell, trade, or transfer all means of armed resistance, including handguns, is denied to civilians by [Article 2] of the Arms Trade Treaty,” wrote Joe Wolverton II of the New American. “Article 3 places the ‘ammunition/munitions fired, launched or delivered by the conventional arms covered under Article 2² within the scope of the treaty’s prohibitions, as well.”