Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Let me assuage any concerns that your readers might have because of statements made by Mr. Maggard in his recent letter to the editor ("International treaties threaten U.S. sovereignty," Dec. 6 Readers’ Write).

Mr. Maggard was wrong when he stated that the United States has ratified the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

I used the internet search query "Is the United States a party to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties?" to locate a State Department website that answered my query, "No." This convention, which was signed during the Nixon Administration, has not been ratified by the United States because the U.S. Senate has not given its "advice and consent."

The balance of power and the checks and balances inherent within the Constitution remain in effect. They have not been circumvented, as described by Mr. Maggard in his letter.

Alan Biddison

Hudgins, Va.
...