Rep. Bachmann Pushes The NRA's U.N. Treaty Conspiracy

If you have a favorite conspiracy theory that you think deserves a wider audience, here's a tip: just tell it to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). The putative presidential candidate will happily repeat it to the world without bothering to determine whether or not it is true.

In a recent appearance, Bachmann reportedly pushed the National Rifle Association's conspiracy that the United Nations is drafting a treaty that could strip Americans of their right to own firearms. The Los Angeles Times reports:

In Estherville, after a supporter asked her position on the 2nd Amendment, Bachmann said she supported Americans' rights to own guns and that she had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

But then she added: "I don't believe in the U.N. taking that right away from us, as well. There are international treaties that want to do that."

The United Nations is drafting an arms treaty, but it is aimed at stemming illegal international gun sales. While many gun manufacturers are concerned that such a treaty could lead to broader gun registration, only a narrow fringe purports that Americans could see their guns taken away by the U.N., which has no authority over constitutional rights.

In September, Bachmann famously said on the Today show that the HPV vaccine "can have very dangerous side effects," citing a mother who approached her after a debate and told her that the vaccine had rendered her daughter mentally retarded. Rather than consult medical experts who say that the vaccine has no such effect, Bachmann happily repeated the statement from a woman she ran into to a national audience.

Bachmann has previously warned that President Obama might be planning to ban sport fishing, called it an "interesting coincidence" that swine flu outbreaks have occurred under Democratic presidents, suggested that Obama or Attorney General Eric Holder advised Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to change his plea to not guilty, and questioned whether a provision of health care reform providing for school-based health clinics could lead to abortions for middle-school students.