Editor, Gazette-Journal:

It is vital for every citizen to remember and keep in mind that all international treaties, under the supremacy clause of the Constitution, have the force of law and may not be opposed by a state or federal legislation. The rather curious fact that we are legally bound to this aspect of treaty law, without Senate ratification, was made possible by the U.S. having been a signatory to the Vienna Convention governing the status of treaties.

Did anyone trouble themselves to read the Convention prior to signing it? However, by this quirk of legalese, America is committed to abide by any treaty signed by the president.

The Vienna Convention requires that all nations who are signatories must refrain from taking any action to undermine or denigrate any pending treaty until ratification or until the president renounces it.

The United Nations has been promoting any number of treaties that, if signed by the president, would nullify much of the sovereignty of this nation. Several of those treaties involve such issues as the Law of the Sea Treaty, U.N control of the internet, the U.S. Small Arms Treaty, to name but a few. In essence, by becoming a signatory to the Vienna Convention, the potential exists for nullification of our sovereignty and current law. Laws can be repealed; however, treaties cannot.

It appears that the balance of power and the checks and balances inherent within the Constitution have been effectively circumvented by the U.S. participation in and becoming a signatory and having ratified the Vienna Convention. Did anyone read the (bill) Vienna Convention, prior to signing it?

Andrew Maggard

Port Haywood, Va.