Dreams shot down for pistol competitor

Pistol-shooter Sharon Johnson says police have shattered her dreams of competing in this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Ms Johnson, 52, the secretary of the Bermuda Target Shooting Association, is among the shooting enthusiasts on the island who had hoped to represent their country in Scotland.

However, she said police policy regarding the use of sporting pistols has scuttled her hopes —  a charge the police commissioner firmly rejects.

Ms Johnson, from Devonshire, said in order for her to compete at the Games, she would have needed a firearm permit that would allow her to practise target shooting, as well as carry pistols off the island.

She does not have such a permit, she said, and because of that she missed qualifiers for the games, which require such documents. She says she applied for a year-long permit last year but police rejected it without explanation. 

“It was kind of understood the Firearms Act had been changed to the point where the police commissioner could issue year-long licences. 

“So we applied for a year licence, thinking it would carry us through to the Commonwealth Games. And it was denied. End of discussion.”

She says gaining access to pistols to practise the sport is difficult, given current law enforcement attitudes.

“It’s very frustrating,” she said.

Commissioner of Police Michael A. DeSilva dismissed Ms Johnson’s assertion that police spiked her bid to compete.

He said it was disingenuous for people like Ms. Johnson to claim police denied temporary firearm licences in preparation for the Games. “Dialogue began more than a year ago and the (Bermuda Target Shooting) Association members were aware that they had been asked to resolve a number of issues including the safe-keeping of the weapons,” he said. 

According to the commissioner, the pistols that could be used for such competitions are currently held by police. 

He says police have proposed a solution that would involve the practice of pistol target shooting at the Bermuda Regiment’s facilities at Warwick Camp.

“The Ministry of National Security had put the Association in touch with the Regiment’s Commanding Officer, who was receptive to the proposal,” said Mr DeSilva. 

“To date the Association has not responded to the BPS. As such, the matter remains in abeyance pending the receipt of any additional information that would assist in the favourable consideration of the applications for temporary licences.”

However, to hear Ms. Johnson tell it, her group has been in touch with the Regiment to work out an arrangement where pistol shooting enthusiasts could prastice their sport but that the discussion “isn’t really going anywhere”.

She understands Bermudian authorities’ trepidation regarding the firearms. 

Gun crime, as reflected in two shootings this month, one of which was fatal, continues to plague the island. She understands the police would want to reduce the number of guns that wind up in the wrong hands.

“With the current problems, the police want to get rid of this activity. They just don’t want it around,” she said. “Still, I would love to be there representing my country.”

She is not alone in that regard. She’s aware of three other women and a handful of men who would be interested in representing Bermuda at the Commonwealth Games in pistol shooting competitions, she said, if they could obtain the necessary permits.

Ms Johnson loves target shooting. She first became enamoured of the sport because of her father, who served in the Bermuda Regiment. 

She grew up down the road from the Coral Reefs Rifle and Pistol Club and estimates she first fired a gun at five years of age.

She likes the singular challenge the sport offers.

“You’re not depending on anyone else,” she said. “It’s all you.”

She talks about how seemingly little things — your diet, whether you’re hydrated,  whether you’ve slept well, if you feel hot or cold — can affect performance.

“Depending on those things, you won’t have a steady hand,” she said.

Last summer, she competed in the Island Games. For that she was granted a permit that allowed her and a handful of others to practice shooting pistols three times before the games began.  

“It was not ideal, we should have been practising every day,” she said.

Police policy meant that each time someone wanted to use the pistols in the run-up to the island games, police would take the firearms out of lock-up, transport them down to the range and stay with the shooters as they practice, at the end of which the police were given the guns back.

“It’s difficult. We can only practice as per their schedule. 

“You need qualified firearm policemen to do be there. And if they have training or if there’s a firearms incident, they’re not available. And we have to pay for them. So long term, it wouldn’t work on a permanent basis. We couldn’t afford to do that.”

The Island Games wasn’t her first international competition.

In September 2012, she travelled to Jersey in the Channel Islands to compete in the Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championships European Division. 

She went without a firearm permit, but those who ran the competition let her compete anyway. She participated in sport shooting with a .22 caliber as well as an air pistol event.

“It builds discipline, stamina and team work,” she said. “It’s something that a lot of people enjoy.”