‘I didn’t know gun control in Canada’: U.S. student spends 4 months in Custody

[Kavvy]

To be fair "custody" was mostly with friends other than 18 days. I don't know how I stand on my tax dollars going to the courts for something like this. We need to have penalties for someone to lie to our border agents, but I don't know where the line is. If it is any less harsh, people wouldn't care.

Even if he is in the wrong, most people would hate the people who did this to him, he ends it very nice (or smartly at least)

"Q Pondering any future visits to Canada?
I was given a lifetime ban from Canada so I can never return again … but Canada seemed like a nice place. I prefer warmer climates so I would never live there but the people are nice."

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12...ss-the-border/

Also, one of the comments from the post is interesting (but nothing to check it against):

I use to work for Canada Customs as a summer seasonal office in my university days. At the land border I worked at we encountered a large number of Americans carrying hand guns. As most of them were good law abiding citizens generally speaking they often were not good at lying about their hand guns. As a result we found a lot of them after they were initially denied. But here's where the story differs from the circumstances described in the article. We did not arrest them, rather the gun was seized and was only returnable upon paying the value of the gun and double (or was it triple - been so long) duties and taxes. Basically it was the same penalty for attempting to smuggle any other goods. Often, despite the steep price. owners would buy the gun back. When they did they had to take it back to the U.S. or leave it with Canada Customs pending their return. As stated, there were never any arrests nor criminal charges laid - that was reserved for mostly young people carrying dope with them. So what's happened?

[CaramonLS]

His parents should probably be in Jail for naming him "Kraig".

He failed on 2 counts:

1) Being completely ignorant to Canadian Laws and Customs
2) Lying to a Border guard

I also have a very hard time believing that "former Customs officer" that lying to a border guard about not having firearms was just a slap on the wrist like he described. Customs dismantles cars and detains people on suspicion of having things like drugs in your car...

[burn_this_city]

Sucks for him, but people shouldn't assume their laws at home are the same elsewhere.

[GP_Matt]

It is even more basic than understanding laws. Don't lie to border security.

[mykalberta]

I hear Singapore is warm, just dont spit on the ground there.

[SebC]

Assuming that comment is true, it really goes to show how stupid our marijuana laws are.

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I hear Singapore is warm, just dont spit on the ground there.

Once, there was this kid who took a trip to Singapore and brought along his spray paint. And when he finally came back he had cane marks all over his bottom. He said that it was from when the warden whacked it so hard.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I hear Singapore is warm, just dont spit on the ground there.

I wonder if he could bring his gun to Singapore?

[Superfraggle]

nm

[PIMking]

What a dumbass, seriously dude it's a different country. Even different states have different laws.

[Daradon]

Feel a little bad for the guy, but yeah, pretty dumb on his part. Secondly, who brings weapons on vacation?

I got a trip to Cuba coming up, I better pack some heat!

[goodyear]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Feel a little bad for the guy, but yeah, pretty dumb on his part. Secondly, who brings weapons on vacation?

I got a trip to Cuba coming up, I better pack some heat!

Kind of off topic but since we're talking about handguns and the law...

A guy went to Australia once. As he presented his passport for inspection, the border guard asked the man: "Do you have a criminal record?"

The man said "No, but I didn't know you still need one to get in."

hahah...heard from a joke or comedian somewhere...

[Hack&Lube]

^ good joke only for history buffs who know that Australia was a penal colony.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Heheheh. Penal.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

His parents should probably be in Jail for naming him "Kraig".

He failed on 2 counts:

1) Being completely ignorant to Canadian Laws and Customs
2) Lying to a Border guard

I also have a very hard time believing that "former Customs officer" that lying to a border guard about not having firearms was just a slap on the wrist like he described. Customs dismantles cars and detains people on suspicion of having things like drugs in your car...

I have always wondering, what happens when they trash your car and take it apart, and say......find nothing?

Do they pay a dealer to professionally put it back together?
Do they pay for any damages to the vehicle?

[moon]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Feel a little bad for the guy, but yeah, pretty dumb on his part. Secondly, who brings weapons on vacation?

The story said he brought as protection from wildlife while camping along the trip.

Not really sure why this is a story or why we should feel bad for the guy.

He broke a fairly obvious law and broke it knowingly. There was no reason to lie to the border guard at all and nervousness seems like a fairly weak excuse.

If he had got caught on some obscure, BS charge then there should be some sympathy but hard to feel sorry for a guy that got busted lying to a border guard about bringing a handgun into another country. Maybe I am just more well traveled than this bozo but that seems like something that should be fairly obvious not to do.

[Nage Waza]

Lots of airports I have traveled through have very effective signs:

"Possession of drugs is punishable by death" or "Possession of guns is punishable by death"

In El Salvador they had all the luggage lined up in lines and a pair of beagles were walked continuously over the luggage while sniffing around. This was done in front of all the travelers. It didn't matter if the dogs knew what they were doing, the combo of death and guns as a punishment was a pretty good deterrent.

[Rathji]

Who knows he might run into someone in Nose Hill park offering stampede passes

[schteve_d]

Don't have a lot of sympathy for the guy. Check the laws of any country you plan on going to and he would have had no trouble whatsoever had he been honest the first time.

Kind of laughed as it reminded me of an old Stephen Wright joke:

I was going through the border the other day and the agent asked me if I had any weapons. I said What d'ya need?

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

^ good joke only for history buffs who know that Australia was a penal colony.

Those same history buffs know that North America is where the prisoners were sent until late 18th cent.