For most of us in the US, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is viewed as an exclusively domestic obstacle to gun regulation. But, as it turns out, the NRA’s obstructionism extends far beyond our borders, impacting the safety of the entire world.

In the US, it’s more difficult to purchase a car than a gun due to lax gun regulations. World trade isn’t much different considering that fruit and bottled water are more strictly regulated than the arms trade, and the NRA wishes to keep it this way.

Back in July, the NRA bragged about killing a United Nations global arms treaty that would regulate small arms, conventional weapons and ammunition, a treaty the Obama administration had initially supported. Using its stranglehold on congress, the infamous gun lobby got over over 50 US senators (including eight Democrats) and 130 members of the House to sign a letter demanding that President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton oppose the treaty. They claimed it would “restricts the rights of law-abiding American gun owners”,  despite the treaty’s acknowledgement of “constitutional protections on private [gun] ownership”.  With the presidential election just months away, Obama caved and the U.S. declared it “needed more time to review the treaty,” just one week after the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater massacre.

NRA opposition to the treaty began in October 2009, when Obama broke with the Bush administration’s steadfast opposition to a global arms treaty. Though US insistence that any decision be unanimous came under legitimate criticism from human right groups, it was nonetheless a welcome reversal in US policy.

Immediately after winning re-election, Obama again reversed his position, backing calls to renew the UN negotiations. On Christmas Eve, the UN General Assembly voted to reopen negotiations on a draft treaty, with the US among the countries that voted “yes”. The draft is will come up for a final vote in March 2013.  And the NRA is once again doing everything in its power to keep the treaty from moving forward on the world stage.

Amnesty International has accused the NRA of “trade[ing] in human rights and human security for an unregulated, free market in dangerous weapons.” Sounds about right to me. In a statement, Michelle Ringuette, chief of campaigns and programs for Amnesty International USA, said the following:

Every day, 1,500 people die in armed conflicts around the world – one person every minute. These unregulated weapons are used to force tens of thousands of children into armed conflict and to rape women and girls in conflict zones. More than 26 million people around the globe are forced from their homes, and their livelihoods destroyed, by armed conflict. The NRA must immediately stand down on its campaign to block a global arms trade treaty.

For years the NRA has lobbied the U.S. government to oppose the global Arms Trade Treaty through lies and distortions, asserting incorrectly the treaty would override the U.S. Constitution. President Obama and Congress must not allow the NRA dictate policy about arms control and run US foreign policy.

So here we are again, only this time the NRA is facing serious scrutiny following their “more guns!” response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, though it’s still too early to tell whether or not this will lead to any substantive changes in policy.

Yesterday, in an interview with Democracy Now, Andrew Feinstein, author of “The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade,” explained why US regulation of arms is so vital to world security.

“I have not seen anywhere else in the world a gun lobby that has the same level of influence on its own government as the NRA does in the United States.”

“The U.S. buys and sells almost as much weaponry as the rest of the world combined. So what happens in the U.S. is going to have enormous impact on the rest of the world.”

The NRA swears that it represents the interests of American gun owners, a majority of who support common sense gun laws like background checks. So why is it so invested in keeping both the US and global arms market less regulated than fruits? The Nation’s Lee Fang may have the answer:

Despite the grassroots façade, there is much evidence to suggest that corporations that profit from unregulated gun use are propping up the NRA’s activities, much like how the tobacco lobby secretly funded “Smokers Rights’” fronts and libertarian anti-tax groups, or how polluters currently finance much of the climate change skepticism movement.

In a “special thanks” to their donors, the National Rifle Association Foundation lists Bushmaster Firearms Inc., the company that makes the assault rifle reportedly found with the shooter responsible for the mass murder today in Newtown, Connecticut. How much Bushmaster Firearms Inc. (a firm now known as Windham) contributes is left unsaid.

The Violence Policy Center has estimated that since 2005, gun manufacturers have contributed up to $38.9 million to the NRA. Those numbers, however, are based on publicly listed “sponsorship” levels on NRA fundraising pamphlets. The real figures could be much bigger. Like Crossroads GPS or Americans for Prosperity, or the Sierra Club for that matter, the NRA does not disclose any donor information even though it spends millions on federal elections.

The “guns equal freedom” ideology is no more than a cover for the gun industry. As Feinstein told Democracy Now, “The global arms trade is a $1.74 trillion-a-year business…And the profit motive behind the global arms trade is absolutely crucial,” with the conventional arms trade worth $70 billion. In this context, the NRA’s behavior begins to make complete sense. Elementary school massacres, human rights abuses and war crimes are simply the price we pay so the big boys at the top can keep their blood-soaked money flowing.