Five states are recognized by the Non-Proliferation Treaty as nuclear weapon states (NWS): China (signed 1992), France (1992), the Soviet Union (1968; obligations and rights now assumed by the Russian Federation), the United Kingdom (1968), and the United States (1968)(The United States, UK, and the Soviet Union were the only states openly possessing such weapons among the original ratifiers of the treaty, which entered into force in 1970). (politics.stackexchange.com)
The framers and ratifiers intended it to be a permanent text, establishing fundamental and immutable principles for republican government. (firstthings.com)
The first reason merely requires the judge to discern what the framers arid ratifiers meant, not to make up new rights the judge regards as «natural.» (firstthings.com)