Don’t Take Your Guns to Canada, Son..
August 19th, 2008 by Syd
You can get into some deep doodoo up there
Mississippi doctor was released from Sarnia jail after posting $20,000 on border gun charge
A Mississippi doctor was released from Sarnia jail Monday after posting $20,000 bail on a gun charge.
The 66-year-old doctor was held in custody for 12 days after a loaded .38-calibre revolver was found in his vehicle Aug. 6 at the Blue Water Bridge.
He is one of about five Americans arrested under newly-revised legislation that imposes a three-year jail sentence for illegal gun possession.
An American government website is “pretty clear” about the penalties for gun violations, said U.S. Consul General John Nay in Ottawa.
“Americans are being caught,” he said.
Americans have the right to contact the consulate when they have been arrested.
Nay is unaware of any surge in calls due to the increased penalty.
The doctor’s wife was in tears Friday afternoon when he was remanded in custody for another weekend. They headed home Monday.
A local lawyer will speak to the charges on the doctor’s behalf Sept. 8.
“It’s a fair one and an open one,” Nay said about the Canadian court system
If the doctor fails to return to the Sarnia court for a trial, the $20,000 can be seized by authorities.
The three-year mandatory sentence was part of the Tackling Violent Crime Act that became law May 1.
Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said May 1 the changes were made because Canadians feel unsafe in their communities due to “dangerous criminals using guns.”
With the new legislation, he said, communities will be better protected from these criminals.
Among the others arrested locally and facing three years in jail, are a California prison guard, a soldier, a 66-year-old Arizona tourist and a 30-year-old man traveling across the continent with his child.
Source: The Sault Star
So “communities will be better protected” by disarming people who aren’t criminals and imprisoning unwary tourists whose only crime is violating an absurd and extreme gun law? Are you sure the real bad guys got the memo? Oh wait… they’re criminals because they break laws including this one. So run this one by me more more time. Maybe I’m a little dense this morning. How exactly will communities be better protected by imprisoning retirees and soldiers?