Representatives of the firearms industry and non-governmental organizations, including the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute and the National Rifle Association, were in Washington, DC, in early May to meet with United Nations (UN) Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, the president-designate of an upcoming UN conference on combating the illicit small arms trade.

The meeting allowed industry members to educate the ambassador, as well as potential members of the US delegation to the conference, with factual information on American manufacturing and distribution processes for sporting firearms and ammunition.

A key issue addressed was the importance of differentiating military small arms and munitions from sporting firearms and ammunition when creating new international treaties and regulations. Misguided regulations that adversely affect the civilian gunowners and the sporting arms industry could have dire consequences on areas as diverse as national economies, wildlife management and law enforcement training, without making one bit of difference in addressing the tragedies of illegal use of small arms elsewhere.

The meeting was hosted by the US Department of State and also included potential delegates from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Department of Defense. The 2006 UN “Conference to Review Progress in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects” will take place in New York City June 24-July 7.

As commonly used, the terms “small arms and light weapons” as used by proponents of international controls includes everything from the smallest handgun to the 88mm cannons on World War II German Panzer tanks.