robocallU.S. governors urge Turks and Caicos to release Americans as Florida woman becomes 5th tourist arrested for ammo in luggage
I don’t understand how ammo ends up in someone’s luggage. It’s not like people pack their ammo in luggage to go to the gun range. but I know someone that works for TSA and I believe they said finding bullets in luggage is the most common way people get in trouble.
𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍I want to know why. Are they going to gun stores while traveling and saying, “holy shit! Hornady Critical Defense 9mm for $20 a box‽ I can’t pass this deal up!” That’s the only thing I can think of.
mean_bean279Correct.
Source: I travel a lot and often do this.
Really? Wow. OK.
Seeing a great deal and spontaneously buying it is understandable, but why would they open up the box and allow ammo to roll around loose in the car?
Oh, well that’s because sometimes it falls out of the box when you’re loading. It’s especially tricky if you’re trying to load while driving, I can tell you! Ha ha.
Shitty paper boxes with heavy contents get beat up and broken pretty easily.
I have various bags that get used for range trips and travel. I am METICULOUS about clearing the gun stuff out of a bag when I’m done. Same with my vehicle, as I cross an international border from time to time and don’t want my truck getting ripped apart. Every bit of gun stuff that goes in the truck on range day is accounted for and removed when I get home.
The real answer is simple. These people are irresponsible fuckwits that give responsible gun owners a shitty name. You can see it every time you go to the range. People shooting the ceiling, people turning around with a pistol in hand and muzzling the whole room. There are a metric fuck ton of people with guns in the US that shouldn’t be considered qualified to own them.
I never put gun stuff in anything other than a range bag, and I never take range bags traveling. I don’t understand - are these people using their travel luggage as range bags? I can’t say I’ve ever seen someone at the range unloading ammo from a suitcase.
Your situation is a bit different, though. You’re actually driving across the border. I can see accidentally leaving some range gear in a vehicle, and especially ammo if you tote it separately as you might with rifle or shotgun shooting. Your diligence is commendable, and wise considering you’re crossing one of the two borders we have.
Ultimately, the only person I trust with a firearm is me. It sounds as if you’re more charitable than that, but we agree there are a lot of people who really shouldn’t have guns.
And we’ve tried everything from “making guns easier to get” to “absolutely nothing,” and we’re out of ideas.
I really wish we could have a good faith conversation in this country about the intersections between rights and responsibilities. Until then, I’m fine with people going to prison in foreign countries for this kinda crap.
Lefty gun owner here, and we haven’t done “nothing” but certainly not enough. Gun control advocates have always done things that feel good and do nothing to prevent violence. Magazine capacity bans (one columbine shooter had 14 ten round ban compliant mags) and bans on cosmetic features like heat shrouds and pistol grips do absolutely nothing to keep anyone safer. People will just train to be effective with pesky ban compliant features, or, you know, ignore the law.
Michigan did something great in response to a school shooting. If a child or otherwise restricted person gains access to your firearms and harms someone, you get slapped with a major felony, a law that’s already been put to use a few times. So it basically makes a safe mandatory by placing the fear of a lengthy sentence on leaving your guns out for kids to grab. It’s something.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing an actual proficiency test, one that weeds out the lowest common denominator. I have sought training and education consistently over years to participate in competitive shooting events, and I’ve literally shot with cops that I wouldn’t let clean their gun in my kitchen. The “test” for a concealed carry license is a joke, id like to see a true test of safety knowledge to even own a firearm.
girlfreddyCanadians have to take and pass an expensive, lengthy course to get a gun license.
That’s one part of Canadian law I could be okay with. Keep carry permits (with additional training and testing). Keep American castle doctrine and self defense laws that provide protection for reasonable use of force. Add a fast track to purchase for victims of domestic abuse or stalking.
I’m unwavering in my belief that people should have the right to lethally defend from mortal threats and sexual assault. Canadian law affords very little legal protection for such cases. That’s at least one part we get right.
FireTowerTLDR: Bring backpack to the range finish with a round left put it in the backpack. Forget to take it out. Go on vacation months later “Oh I should bring my backpack for hiking”.
A negligent moron who should not be allowed near firearms then.
It’s simple. I don’t need different bags for specific purposes. That’s wasteful. I just use the same bags for range time and travel. Obviously I couldn’t tell you how a whole ass gun gets left in there, but I could see a few accidental rounds or casings.
I got stopped going into Canada and their dog got a hit on my bag in the back of my truck. They accused my wife and I for over an hour of trying to bring weapons into Canada. Told them the dog has a good sniffer and that I frequently use that bag at the range, but that I was in fact just traveling to visit national parks and that if I was bringing in guns to their country it wouldn’t be through a major point of entry and would be in the thousands of miles of semi-unmonitored border.
You definitely might use the same backpack or tote to go out to the range as to go on a weekend trip. Drive to a hunting holiday with friends, then use the same bags for a trip to Disney with the kids. If you’re going somewhere, you use the bags you have.
If you’re driving to a multi-day camping/shooting event with friends you’ll pack your suitcase. Sounds very plausible to me.
This typically isn’t people putting it in luggage (like suitcases) but backpacks or other non-dedicated range bags.
Negligence pure and fucking simple
I assume hunting trips.
I assume absolute morons who should never be allowed anywhere near a firearm, it’s fucking inexcusable.
apfelwoiSchoppenFucks sake. Why should they.
UllallullooIt’s literally a victimless crime committed unintentionally. Most people oppose 12-year prison sentences for harmless accidents.
I mean, you’re travelling internationally, check your damn bag. You think if a couple of Turkish dudes got caught with ammo in their luggage they’d do great in the states? Don’t like getting in trouble overseas? Don’t break the laws overseas.
think getting smacked with a cane for smoking weed is dumb. Still won’t catch me with weed in Singapore though. Best believe I triple checked my bags when I left Europe too.
Yeah the hypocrisy of the US government is the glaring thing here. Do as I say, not as I do. The US holds black children in prison for life for some marijuana, or random internationals in Guantanamo for decades. The projection is central.
I absolutely agree that they should have been more careful. But justice is justice. . .so do you believe they deserve to do jail time for being stupid/careless when presumably no one was harmed?
My point being ignorant is insufficient a defence for these type of offences. My opinion of whether they “deserve” it isn’t really relevant. The law is the law. If I get fucked up and drove; I could claim it was a stupid mistake and no one was harmed if I got pulled over and arrested. That doesn’t really matter and isn’t why it’s a law. I believe they should be charged and given lighter sentences and/or the US should apply for clemency on their behalf but my point remains it’s the discretion of local law enforcement.
My point is being ignorant is insufficient a defence for these type of offences.
Well you neither said this, and it was in response to someone saying they should be punished because it was an accident and thus a victimless crime.
And this whole thing is about us leaders lobbying to go easy on these people, so I hope you see why I didn’t realize what you were actually supposedly arguing.
Well you neither said this, and it was in response to someone explaining that they shouldnt be punished because it was an accident and thus a victimless crime.
It’s implied with my previous remarks. It being an accident/mistake is synonymous with pleading ignorance in this instance.
Of course it is up to local law enforcement. I’ve seen no one argue or suggest otherwise.
People saying it’s harmless or a simple mistake are actively undermining local law enforcement whether they know it or not. I’ve seen this countless times before. People get charged with crimes overseas, some that perhaps they wouldn’t at home. Then rather it being a simple matter of if said person did what they’re accused of doing it becomes “oh this countries law are ridiculous, this person simply didn’t know, local law enforcement is corrupt” and so on. Whatever it takes to remove accountability of the person and blame the host country or its law enforcement either directly or indirectly.
I guess what I’m arguing is if you can’t check your bags, read a foreign travel advisory or even pay attention to intercom announcements while you touch down; don’t come crying foul play to the consulate with your drug charge expecting to get a clemency plea. Just to be oddly specific.
I don’t really follow your point. All we’re doing here is pointing out how ridiculous it is that someone might spend a decade in prison for accidentally having 2 bullets in their bag and how much a travesty of justice it is.
Everyone agrees, be careful and don’t break the law especially in a foreign country. These people were dumb for not being careful.
But the law is blatantly unjust. They made a mistake. What does sending them to prison for 10 years do? I’m pretty sure these people won’t ever even travel to t&c again, and if they do they will triple check their bags. No prison time necessary, the point has been driven home I’m sure.
And plus this is not what the law is targeting, it is about gang violence. It’s not even in the spirit of the law.
You really want these people to spend ten years in prison for no reason at all strictly because they broke the letter of the law, but certainly not the spirit. Why?
Victimless crime. Who says they’re not smuggling ammo into the country to use for criminal activity? You only need to fire a single bullet to kill someone.
It’s more than correct that they’re detained and go to trial. I don’t think anyone is actually sentenced yet?
I also assume 12 years is the upper limit for possession here.
It was two rounds of loose hunting ammo. If you can kill someone with two rounds of ammo and no gun you can kill someone without two rounds of ammo…
Also it was leaving the country to fly to the U.S. where they could purchase it again legally, so not much of a reason to give them 12 years of prison
Who says they’re not smuggling ammo into the country to use for criminal activity? You only need to fire a single bullet to kill someone.
The woman in question was traveling with her daughter, and was caught with 2 rounds of ammo in her bag when leaving the country. If you are trying to smuggle it in, why are you bringing it back out?
But if they can prove that she was trying to smuggle ammo into the country, what the law was meant for, then yes please let her burn. But “she might have been, so it’s fine she is doing prison time despite it almost certainly just being a dumb mistake” doesn’t sit well with me at all. I don’t believe it It should sit well with anyone who claims to care about justice.
I also assume 12 years is the upper limit for possession here.
You really think someone should do prison time for making a mistake that didn’t even hurt anyone?
TSA confirmed to CBS News its officers missed the four rounds of hunting ammo in Watson’s carry-on when he and his wife departed from Oklahoma City in April. A spokesperson for the agency told CBS News the TSA is addressing the oversight internally.
America’s finest.
Flying SquidIt’s a shit job with shit pay to deal with assholes all day and you don’t even know if you’ll get that shit pay if congress can’t come up with a deal every few months. I don’t blame them.
It’s a shit job that shouldn’t exist. It’s all security theater and always has been.
Not always. Before 9/11 it didn’t even exist. But since its creation, yes it’s a total waste of time and money.
I blame them. I see people doing literal shit jobs (cleaning bathrooms) every day for shittier pay and they even have a smile in their faces from time to time. They definitely don’t go out of their way to be assholes to everyone around them and spread their misery.
It’s an organization culture thing. I’ve been to airports where they just do their jobs, and I’ve been to ones where they think they’re cops and act accordingly: as bastards.
I have yet to have a TSA person be an asshole to me. Curt, maybe. An asshole, no.
The latest I’ve personally witnessed was one sadistically mishandling an obviously expensive violin to torture the poor girl that was trying to get through X-ray to embark.
That was in Houston, and other people I know that live the say that going through TSA there is always between bad and terrible. I’ve been to Memphis and they were fine.
That honestly sounds more like a texas thing than a TSA thing as sadism is their official state pasttime.
I asked whether the cancer box was compulsory or whether I could get a pat-down instead. What followed was a difference of labeling opinion where one debater had ultimate power over the other. I had to get reeeeally Canadian to still make my flight.
Got my pat-down.
If you’re worried about radiation, don’t get on an airplane at all. You’ll get a lot more being that high in the atmosphere than you will walking through a security scanner.
It’s okay - just as long as it’s not a slightly larger pack of toothpaste, or god forbid some water. Luckily those get caught, so we’re still safe.
Just use a separate bag for guns and ammo. It’s not that hard, and you will never mix them up.
FaceDeerBut then you get that awkward situation where you go on vacation, open your luggage to get a fresh pair of socks or whatever, and find that you brought nothing but guns and ammo along with you on your trip.
JessicaGod I hate it when that happens!
qisopeI think they’d be more likely to feel distressed at discovering the opposite had occurred
Yeah this is psychotic my ammo bag is never used for anything else except ammo. It would never occur to me to take it on vacation. Why would I even want to? I don’t even believe these people.
Exactly. It was one of the first things they told us in the training classes. I still don’t understand why they aren’t mandatory prior to owning a gun.
Or even better, don’t own either! Boom, problem solved!
nocturneOr even better, don’t own either!
Easy for you to say. But what an I supposed to do without any bags? Just carry everything in cardboard boxes?
breadsmasherproblems literally only americans have. is it really too much to ask to store guns and ammunition safely?
Whoa there, I do believe that’s heresy in the United States. Punishment is a range day with someone entirely too enthusiastic about esoteric gun details like barrel twist.
Guns of course not, ammo kinda yeah? It can kinda get everywhere when you go out shooting. If you don’t have strictly segregated bags for international travel vs a bag for going to the range or taking hunting then it’s pretty easy to find old loose ammo in your bag or stuck in your coat when you don’t expect it. I do have a range backpack that also gets used for other hobbies but never travels with me just in case but like, I get it. I’ve more than once had an empty cartridge fall out of a jacket multiple days after last shooting.
Same here, I try not to mix travel bags with bags I carry ammo and weapons in. Rounds and shells have a tendency of getting everywhere. I could totally see how this could happen to anyone who has guns and shoots regularly.
In the army we weren’t even allowed to have missing spent brass, fucking live ammo is instant ucmj, but you keep on dumping your ammo into the beer cooler Cletus. Such a responsible and intelligent gun owner, so proud.
I accidentally brought back lime 60 rounds of 556 from Afghanistan in one of my uniforms, mps didn’t catch it and I only noticed months later when I was going through my old uniforms lmao