UN Conference On Small Arms Begins The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute, which holds UN non-governmental organization status, will make a statement during the June 26-July 7 UN Conference on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, underscoring the right, value and tradition of firearms ownership in America and elsewhere in the world. Billed as a review of progress made on a 2001 program of action to address illegal trafficking of small arms, the conference is viewed by many as backdoor global gun control and, obviously, a direct threat to the Second Amendment. More than 100,000 letters have been sent to conference chairman Prasad Kariyawasam of Sri Lanka through www.stopungunban.org protesting this potential assault on a basic American right. Read a CNN story about it.