Gunmaker

THE JOURNAL OF CUSTOM GUNMAKING

May/June/July 2000 Issue 91

"Art in Action"

The Whitetail: A Tribute - ACGG Firearm #16

Inc..
Newsletter of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild, Inc
 Legislation
Defending Canada’s Heritage
Editor’s Note: The following letter
was written by Mr. Tony Bernardo
when asked to define his duties on
behalf of Canadian gun owners. As
you can see his services are helping
responsible gun owners worldwide.
This subject of the international gun
registration and control movement is
one which we often overlook when
we are so busy fighting our US
legislators for our constitutional
rights.
Y ou may not know that
the current firearms
control situation in Canada is
not confined to our shores. In
fact most of our current prob-
lems stem, not from former
Justice Minister Alan Rock, but
from Foreign Minister Lloyd
Axworthy’s office. Canada is
currently involved with four
significant international gun
control projects, mostly through
the auspices of the United
Nations.
Much of the stubbornness
the Liberal government has
demonstrated in ramming Bill
C-68 down our collective throats
is based on international postur-
ing. The government of Canada
can hardly be advocating their
international gun control
programs while their own
domestic firearms control
agenda collapses. There is
much information to this regard
on our web site: <http://
www.cila.org/>www.cila.org
To counter these interna-
tional projects a body was
formed a few years ago. This
group is called the World
Forum on the Future of Sport
Shooting Activities. It is com-
Issue 91
CILA / ICAL              
posed of the heads of most of the
prominent firearms groups from
around the world. At the WFSA I
have four functions. I am a
member of the Executive, I am the
Communications Director, I sit
on the UN Legislative Committee
and the Image of Sport Shooting
Committee. More information
regarding the WFSA is available
on our web site: <http://
www.wfsa.net/>www.wfsa.net
To give you an indication of
the importance of these meetings,
some of my fellow committee
members are: James Jay Baker,
Executive Director (ED),
NRA-ILA; Keith Tidswell (ED)
Sporting Shootings Association
of Australia; Nick Alexakos, Pres,
IPSC International; Larry Katz,
Pres, Safari Club International;
General James Chambers, ED,
Sporting Arms and Ammunition
Manufacturers Institute
(SAAMI), Keith Irving, Pres,
British Sport Shooting Council;
Joachim Streitberger, ED, Forum
Waffenrecht; Mark Barnes,
Barnes and Associates, F.A.I.R
Trade...etc. A full list of partici-
pants is available on the WFSA
site.
My interaction with these
people has proved invaluable
and was instrumental in the
quick action taken over the
recent Presidential Directive
banning the export of American
arms and ammunition to
Canada. Many of Canada’s
firearms distributors rely
regularly on our ability to get
U.S. Export Permits freed up on
the U.S. side. In fact, without our
direct intervention, Canadian
Tire would have canceled all
May/June/July 2000
ammunition sales, a catastrophe
for many Canadian firearms
owners Another invaluable
spin-off of these relationships
was the production of the
NRA’s Canadian Situation
Infommercial, seen every
Saturday and Sunday on TNN.
The NRA filming schedule was
entirely set up by CILA and has
been a critical tool in informing
Canadian firearms owners of
the current situation. Its produc-
tion cost was over $100,000 and
was entirely paid for by the
NRA.
WFSA meetings happen
several times a year. Once a
year, the WFSA AGM is held in
Nuremberg (not Frankfurt),
Germany in conjunction with
the IWA trade show. All
meeting costs are paid for by
IWA.
A second general meeting
is held at a determined location
and is hosted by the organiza-
tion from that area. I have
attended WFSA meetings in
Brescia, Italy (paid for by
ANPAM and the Beretta Corp)
and in Washington DC (paid for
by the NRA).
In addition to the above
there may be several other
meetings called as specific
issues come up. If these issues
have no relevance to my con-
stituency I do not attend This
has happened many times.
I am also an accredited
United Nations lobbyist bearing
credentials from both the NRA
and the Sporting Shooters
Association of Australia. The
upcoming UN Marking Systems
meeting in Sardinia, Italy will
Gunmaker 17
deal with the Canadian
government’s UN Initiative on
the Universal Marking of
Firearms. This project is an
attempt to apply universal
markings to every firearms
produced in the world. It will
be attended by many represen-
tatives of the world’s firearms
manufacturers, the WFSA
legislative group, various
United Nations officials and:
James Hayes, International
Director, Canadian Firearms
Centre, Mark Gaillard, Director
of Disarmament and
Non-Proliferation, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Murray
Smith, Director, Canadian
Firearms Registry. Wendy
Cukier, Pres, Coalition for Gun
Control, also attends many of
these meetings, both with an
accredited non-governmental
organization and as a “recog-
nized expert” in small arms
control for the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. Still think
nobody from Canada should be
there?
My recent trip to Char-
lotte, NC was as an invited
guest of the National Rifle
Association. I met with various
reps from the above organiza-
tions and manufacturers in
regards to the upcoming
Sardinia meeting. Getting
everybody on the same song
sheet is critical in these circum-
stances. The firearms marking
issue is extremely important
and will have a direct impact on
your ability to buy firearms at
reasonable cost. One must also
be cognizant of what the UN
will do with this database.
The Marking Systems
Project is only a small part of
the UN Initiative. It will be
included in the Firearms Proto-
col as part of the Trans-National
Convention on Organized
Crime. This document will be
presented as part of the upcom-
ing 2001 Summit on Small Arms
to be held in Geneva. And yes, I
will be there.
If you believe that these
meetings are a tourist vacation,
then respectfully I suggest you
have never had the evils of
business travel inflicted on you.
Jet lag is not just a theory. This
work is exhausting and ex-
tremely hard on families (it has
cost me two in the last several
years). Like many others in my
capacity, I rarely have time to
participate in the things I love,
like shooting. But if I’m not
there, no one from Canada is.
Please remember, these
things are in addition to my
many other duties.
These international trips
are also very expensive and this
should be recognized as an
important part of the serious-
ness of the commitment made to
firearms owners by the organi-
zations they belong to. Natu-
rally, any donation you should
care to make to continue this
critically important work will be
gratefully accepted. CILA is
TOTALLY funded by contribu-
tions.
Lastly Mr. McKay, CILA’s
participating organizations are
fully aware of these interna-
tional activities and support
them fully. Those are the
people I answer to (I am an
employee) and if they wish my
attendance at these meetings, I
go.
I trust this answers your
concerns.
Yours in Service,
Tony Bernardo
Executive Director

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18 Gunmaker May/June/July 2000 Issue 91