Home humor My Husband’s Not in Prison!!!

My Husband’s Not in Prison!!!

by Kelly Crawford

I wasn’t going to post this…then I decided it was too bizarre a story not to tell, so with my husband’s permission…here goes:

I mentioned he had a delivery job in the summer.  It requires him to drive up north and make a loop back home.  With his trusty GPS, traveling has been easier.  Just punch in the destination and PRESTO–you’re there with little thought.

He left on a trip last week.  It’s a taxing drive; he and one other person must drive continuously with only intermittent sleep.  But he’s great at it.

Well, this time the “Global Positioning System” led him into the “Gun Possession Search”.

He was making his route from New York to Ohio when he suddenly came upon the Canadian border without realizing it.  (Yes, Canada dips down between the states, so they weren’t really out of the way  much.)

Thinking a simple explanation of the mistake would allow him to just turn around, they informed him otherwise.  Searching his car, they found his pistol–a legal, registered hand weapon he carries on these trips due to a number of factors, including riding through some rough parts of the country.

As soon as they found the weapon, they yanked him out of the van and hand-cuffed him.  (And drew a gun.)  Then they put him in a cell where he was interrogated for 3 hours.

Canada is apparently very serious about gun-control, so they informed him he would probably serve 3-10 years for “trying to cross the border with a concealed weapon”, which he repeatedly explained was not the case.

Finally, upon realizing all his information matched up, they agreed to release him.  They kept his gun (he loved that gun) and charged him $1000 to get his van out of impounding.

To say he was shaken to the core is an understatement!  He was actually thrilled to get off so easily after thinking half the night that he wouldn’t see his family for several years.  Thankfully, this all took place in the middle of the night and I was not aware of it until it was all cleared up.

Socialism…gotta love it 😉

To their credit though, I understand the need for precautions so I’m not badgering procedure.  I do think, though, it’s pretty unfair that he still got penalized for a mistake.  But my opinion probably doesn’t hold much water with the Canadian border patrol.

Moral…hide your gun if you get near the border 😉

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56 comments

Lisa June 29, 2009 - 10:48 pm

You should have your hubby contact the NRA…they should have given him the opportunity to turn around.

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Kim M June 29, 2009 - 11:46 pm

NO WAY! My husband would have shot them before he would let them take his gun (just kidding), but I know how our men are about their guns.
Sounds like they just wanted a new gun to me. Can you say legal theft?
I agree with Lisa… maybe the NRA can help you.

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Kellie June 30, 2009 - 12:08 am

What a scary situation for your husband, I know I would have been shaken up too. It’s such a bummer when we make simple honest mistakes and it’s taken wrong. Yet God knows your husbands heart and it’s just another way we can grow through a trial. God wasn’t caught by surprise when your husband was lost…and He was protecting your husband. Isn’t God good! Praise God they let him go and he’s back home with his family. What a story!

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Leslie from VA June 30, 2009 - 6:06 am

Unbelievable!
Our family just heard Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America speak in Harrisonburg, VA. He made some excellent points, and I am wondering if he would be a good contact for info on this kind of situation. I am sure your husband has not been the first nor the last recipient of this welcoming from Canada. If he does learn some info, please share the results.

Bless your heart, Kelly. I am so glad the LORD allowed this to happen while you slept! HE watched over you and your husband! Praise the LORD!

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ELizabeth June 30, 2009 - 7:45 am

That is outrageous. I am a gun owner myself and I often take wrong turns, so I can understand how easy it would be to get into this situation. (Minor quibble: I don’t think gun control has anything to do with socialism, which is an economic system by which the state owns and manages the means of production. Sorry you know I can’t comment on a post without contradicting you.)

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Leslie from VA June 30, 2009 - 8:14 am

Mrs. Crawford,

My Mom wanted me to read this entry on your blog. I respectfully disagree with the comment on socialism and gun control stated by one of your commenters. Socialist governments do not want guns in the hands of the people because the people would then have the ability to resist the government. Socialists want us to believe that socialism is only a way that the state owns and manages production. However, socialism also attempts to control the thoughts and opinions of the people to conform to the wishes of the government. Socialist governments are also the worst persecutors of Christians around the world. Many socialist government’s first step in revolutionizing the country in gun control, so that the people cannot resist their attempts.

Ben

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 8:16 am

Elizabeth,

*Grin*…Perhaps you don’t know the extent and nature of Socialism…

“Socialism is based on the arrogant assumption that there are a few (elected or in power by force) who are uniquely suited to decide all issues of life….

To the extent that the United States has imposed gun controls on a population “protected” by our Bill of Rights, we have a measure of how socialist our country has become. Our government was founded on the idea that individuals have God-given rights that need to be protected from that same government. Furthermore, government was seen as having no rights, but only a few well-defined duties.

Socialism requires the reversal of our founding premises….Socialism considers law (and everything else) to belong to the government or to be controlled by it.”

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 8:22 am

Ben,

A hearty AMEN…you are very wise. You may like the above quote I just mentioned as well…perhaps another socialist tactic is to blind the eyes of its citizens to what socialism really is (which starts in the school system, IMO 😉

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Adlyn June 30, 2009 - 8:35 am

That’s so scary, I’m glad he’s okay and not in the Big House. Socialism is so scary, How in the world does he get a fine that high for a mistake?

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Lisa June 30, 2009 - 9:34 am

Another thing to think about…does your husband have a passport? Technically, US citizens don’t need a passport to enter Canada, but they need one to come back, so Canada border guard won’t let anyone in without proper documentation to return home. If your husband was stopped *at* the border, he never actually went into Canada. And if he doesn’t have a passport, or didn’t have one on him at the time, he didn’t even have the means to cross into Canada anyway. Definitely call the NRA and tell them your story. They just *might* be able to get your husband his gun back and the $1000 as well. There’s no harm in asking, right? And they may just have a good case on their hands, sounds like it to me, anyway.

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Heather June 30, 2009 - 9:40 am

Wow. I have heard that Canadians are pretty serious about guns. It certainly appears that God protected your husband as he was traveling.

Elizabeth…I don’t want to turn this into a debate over whether socialism and gun control are synonymous. However, I would like to know if you can give a few examples of openly, highly socialized (nationalized) countries in which the citizens have been able to successfully retain the ability to peacefully keep and bear arms.

I can’t think of any.

Interesting article: http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#worse

While I understand that socialism is an economic system, it typically is coupled with a strongly controlling, personally invasive form of government which is needed to enforce the policies concerning the “redistribution of wealth”. Citizens are baited with the concept that we will all be cared for by the government if only the “selfish”, “divisive” people will give up some of our most basic, Constitutionally provided rights.

If the citizens of a country can be won over to quietly accept dictatorial governmental control, it is considered more desirable than a violent takeover.

Armed citizens are more likely to successfully resist than are unarmed ones.

I’m not a gun “advocate” but prefer to be allowed to freely choose whether or not I own one.

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Heather June 30, 2009 - 9:41 am

PS. Ben posted while I was still typing.

Just wanted to thank you for your insightful comment. You said what I was thinking, but related your meaning far more eloquently!

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pomegranatetears June 30, 2009 - 9:42 am

Adlyn: He probably got a fine that high for a mistake because they might have a no-tolerance policy. The border people have probably heard every lie in the book, so they probably look at every excuse like a lie.

Regardless of whether or not a country allows guns in their country, crossing a border with a handgun without going through the proper channels is a serious offense.

The good thing is that they realized that your husband was telling the truth and he was able to get away with minimal harm (the only thing that happened was a fine and the loss of a handgun).

Unfortunately in this day and age of people being hyper-sensitive to the threat of terrorism people take such things seriously.

I doubt the NRA would be able to do anything, because he fell under Canadian jurisdiction not the USAs.

I’m glad he came out okay, such a thing is so scary, especially when you KNOW you are innocent.

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Lisa June 30, 2009 - 9:55 am

“I doubt the NRA would be able to do anything, because he fell under Canadian jurisdiction not the USAs.”

He didn’t cross the boarder yet. And, if he didn’t have proper documentation to return home, they should have just turned him around anyway, not searched his vehicle. Also, Canada has their own version of the NRA, so if they have to, they can get together on it. My hubby’s a member of the NRA and says to definitely at least contact them and tell them what happened.

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Sarah June 30, 2009 - 10:07 am

That’s terrible! I’m glad they didn’t lock him away for several years, but I can’t help feeling the “ouch” of the fine for you guys.

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Heather June 30, 2009 - 10:40 am

The site I linked to above has a lot of very helpful information. It has contact info for the NFA (Canadian version of NRA). http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#resources

Canadian law does not recognize our “right to keep and bear arms”, and apparently you even need special licensing to even show up at the border with a gun http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#confirm (see non-resident firearms declaration) so I expect they come down hard on anyone they think is trying to sneak a gun into the country.

I think the lesson here is that if there is even a remote possibility of crossing the border (in either direction) with a firearm, it is wise to know what laws need to be observed and whether there is specific paperwork to be obtained.

I am sorry your husband was slapped with such a huge fine. I don’t mean to sound flippant, but have to ask-was it $1,000 US or Canadian?

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Mrs. Taft June 30, 2009 - 11:00 am

Will he be able to get his gun back? I agree with the others…contract the state gov’t he was in at the time and make a stink, contact border patrol and make a stink, and def. contact the NRA.

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Bethany Hudson June 30, 2009 - 11:05 am

That is frightening. Crossing the boarder can be rough (I grew up less than two hours from the Canadian boarder in NY), I know. One time (way before 9/11), we tried to go to Canada for a day trip with my best friend and her sister. We had a signed letter from their parents, their vaccination records, and their birth certificates. They still took the girls (they were about 8 and 6 at the time) into another room to interrogate them and make sure we weren’t kidnapping them!! It took us about an hour to cross the boarder that day. Ridiculous.
~Bethany

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Lori June 30, 2009 - 11:05 am

“If the citizens of a country can be won over to quietly accept dictatorial governmental control, it is considered more desirable than a violent takeover.”

Heather, this is practically the definition of “Fabian Socialist.” Good eye.

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 11:23 am

Heather,

Interesting stuff…and I had forgotten it was Canadian money, so really, it cost him around $900.

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 11:25 am

Our hesitation about challenging the penalties is that apparently they have 1 year to reverse the charges. I interpret that to mean that for any reason they deem they could decide to charge him with time??? So it’s hard to know what to do!

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Ashley June 30, 2009 - 11:32 am

“Socialist governments are also the worst persecutors of Christians around the world.”

Why do you think they are “worse” then Communist countries for religious persecution?

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Jill F. June 30, 2009 - 11:52 am

We are in the West and cross the border to Canada every Sunday to go to church(yes, this church is worth the hassle!). We are often asked if we OWN guns! Well, we are Americans and we are allowed to own guns so we get huffy at that question! It is usually followed up with, “Where are your guns right now?” so I guess they’re trying to catch us with the guns! I tell you, after experiences like this as well as observing our Canadian Christian friends wait and wait and wait to been seen by a doctor because of their “wonderful” socialized medicene…we are realizing that the freedoms we still have in the States need to be seriously defended!

BTW-you can’t even buy BB’s at the toys-r-us in Canada :).

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Steph June 30, 2009 - 11:59 am

Wow – I can’t believe that happened. What a trip! I agree with above posters that you should call a gun ownership advocacy group to help out… they might not be able to do anything, but it can’t hurt.

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Heather June 30, 2009 - 12:35 pm

Ashley,

Dictionary definitions of the two models are not entirely dissimilar. In fact, the main difference I can see is that socialism suggests the *possibility* of the citizens actually having a say in how the country’s resources are handled. Communism is more up front about the intention of the government (or a single political party) to control everything. In practice, the theory of socialism is arguably nothing more than well-marketed communism.

We could get hung up on the semantics but the bottom line is that at their core, both concepts boil down to “Government as god” and the results are that people are oppressed.

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Rachel Falaschi June 30, 2009 - 12:37 pm

Ashley,
Most socialist countries are not far off from communist countries. They are very similar in their style of government.

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Rachel Falaschi June 30, 2009 - 12:38 pm

Heather,

Great post. We must have been posting at the same time. You said what I wanted to, but much better!

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Lisa June 30, 2009 - 12:47 pm

“Our hesitation about challenging the penalties is that apparently they have 1 year to reverse the charges. I interpret that to mean that for any reason they deem they could decide to charge him with time??? So it’s hard to know what to do!”

Kelly,
That’s why you contact the NRA first…you will definitely be on their radar if you complain to the government to begin with. The NRA can better advise you, and they won’t push it if they think it’s going to make it worse for you. They’ve definitely dealt with these kinds of situations before, not only with the border, but right here in the U.S. too. It won’t hurt anything to just call the NRA and see what they think.

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Lisa June 30, 2009 - 12:55 pm

Also, I’m not sure of exact laws in regards to being able to reverse the charges, but logic and common sense tells me (does that even exist anymore? LOL), that since they released him back into the U.S., they no longer have jurisdiction over him, while he’s in the U.S. If they want him back up there, I believe they have to do it by going through our system first (courts? I have no idea.). As long as the Canadians reported the truth, my guess is that they would have a hard time doing it. If the NRA finds that you have a legitimate case, they’ll make sure you’re taken care of. 🙂

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Heather June 30, 2009 - 12:56 pm

Kelly, I’m glad you got s “discount”, however small.

Lori and Rachel, I’m certainly no expert and often am more opinionated than I should be.

I wanted to clarify that I do not believe that socialistic policies automatically mean oppression of citizens. I am vaguely familiar with the concept of Fabian Socialism, and believe this is the “new” way by which communism establishes itself in a “quiet”, undetected manner. The method is implemented over a long period of time, through indoctrination of subsequent generations rather than forcefully, through a bloody, violent revolution.

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The Cottage Child June 30, 2009 - 3:38 pm

Oh my goodness, Kelly, poor guy and poor you! I find it interesting that Canada so carefully monitors it’s borders – here in Texas, it’s come as you are, bring your guns/drugs/criminal intent….Different topic, for another time.

My husband is in law now, formerly in law enforcement, and wasn’t surprised at all by what your husband encountered. He doesn’t like it, but he wasn’t surprised. The truth of the matter is, your husband may have crossed through states in the US that would not have honored his Concealed Handgun License (that’s what it’s referred to here in Texas), as not all states honor rights of reciprocity, even when the bearer is in his/her own vehicle (technically an extension of one’s home, constitionally speaking).

So, because you’re a minute and a half away from having a gigantic 14 pound baby, and have nothing else to do, I would take the suggestions that you contact the NRA. I don’t imagine this is the first they’ve heard of such a thing. Honestly, if you have a family attorney, I would consider having him or her contact the State Department if there are questions of lingering potential prosecution. Not to be alarmist, but I would want to tie up any loose ends that might be further frayed in error.

Love.

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 3:59 pm

Cottage Child,

LOL! (14-lb baby comment made me laugh–to keep from crying 😉

I think I’ll get my husband right on it–he’s been a member of the NRA for the last couple of years, but I don’t think he is now–maybe they’ll still extend some advice.

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Daja June 30, 2009 - 4:44 pm

Oy! That’s scary!

Well, now he has a story that will be retold at family gatherings for years to come! And what man doesn’t want a little adventure now and then! LOL!

🙂

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Mrs. Lady Sofia June 30, 2009 - 5:04 pm

Kelly,

With all this excitement, I’m surprised that it hasn’t caused you to go into labor early, but you would probably appreciate that right now, huh (smiles)?

BTW, I agree with some of the readers about seeing if you can “tie-up loose ends” just to be on the “safe side.” It might just give you and your family some peace of mind.

Also, I’m sorry that your husband had to endure such criminal treatment, but I am thankful that the Canadians let him off with a fine instead of deciding to put him in prison.

Lastly, how is your husband going to replace the gun the Canadians took under their possession?

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 5:40 pm

Lady Sophia,

He is looking for one, just hard to spend the money 😉

By the way…I mentioned earlier that this trip would pay for the baby plus some, and then we lost almost $1000 of it. To my Heavenly Father’s credit, not only did He see fit to protect Aaron from a potentially tragic circumstance, but we’ve had a donor give us more than half of the fine back…yes, He’s good all the time!

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M. June 30, 2009 - 5:44 pm

I find this very funny… As a Canadian living in Canada I find this very funny,(not the hahaha funny but the ironic kind) cause according to your government we are soft.. soft on terriosts that is.. though my thought is who let them into the US… um the US border patrol.
I went to college in the States and have always maintained getting into Canada was much harder than leaving it… but then I wasn’t packing a gun either 🙂
Wishing you the LORD’s blessing in your upcoming birth.

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Ann June 30, 2009 - 5:51 pm

I have to tell you this story Kelly… I think you need some relief from all those serious comments and the debate on gun control your story has set in motion… especially at the moment! I hope they were not filming this or your husband could end up on ‘Border Security’… the American version of this top rating tv programme is shown here in Australia and it often features people having their cars and persons searched at the Canadian/US border! And sometimes, it is simply for having the same name as a criminal. Down under it’s agricultural security which is a major issue and I had the unfortunate experience of having my baggage searched and being grilled extensively for a long period when I arrived back in NZ after foot and mouth disease broke out in the UK and I happened to be there.I had made the mistake of writing dairy farmer on my customs form. Why didn’t I write housewife! The customs officer was convinced I had milk in my bag for my 15 month year old baby and was determined to find some form of dairy product or any type of food in one of my bags. He would not accept my denials and did not seem to believe that I had been nowhere near a farm, he showed no sympathy when I explained I had been in a UK city for my father’s funeral. With every single item pulled out of my bags in front of the waiting queue I was close to tears when he asked me again ‘Do you have any food for your baby with you?’ to which I replied ‘No he’s breastfed… do you want me to show you!’ His face went pale and he immediately relented and let me go! ‘Best thing for them’ were his parting words! I can laugh now but at the time it was a harrowing experience… those around me must have thought the officer had found a suspected drug smuggler…. everyone else was being let through after a few quick questions! Thankfully ‘Border Security’ was not around back then or I’m sure I would have featured! So if you ever come down under, make sure you leave that spare banana on the plane!

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 8:43 pm

Ann,

LOL! Oh my goodness what a story! Thanks for the diversion.

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Kim from Canada June 30, 2009 - 9:25 pm

Well, I have already extended my Canadian apologies to your husband – but now I have to be the bearer of some bad news…the gun is likely already melted down to nothing. So, not sure what the NRA can do, other than maybe ensuring the threat of jail in the next year is a hollow one.
Sometimes when the Lord says to live a quiet life, we need to heed it.
Oh, and for the record, socialism or communism – only semantics once you have to live with it.

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Word Warrior June 30, 2009 - 9:38 pm

Kim,

Wise words…and I’m guessing with you on the gun destruction. They assured him he would never see it again.

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Teaching Good Things » Blog Archive » Independence and Freedom July 1, 2009 - 8:22 am

[…] 1300 miles away. When our phone rang at 3 AM Sunday morning I just knew it was something very bad. You can read the story here, Josh was the "other person" with Aaron. Praise God when I heard his voice I knew he was […]

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Ashley July 1, 2009 - 10:34 am

Heather, that doesn’t answer the question. Are you comparing China to most of Europe?

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Anonymous July 1, 2009 - 10:34 am

[…] comical little friend, Emma, (whose brother was with my husband during his traveling adventures last week) always has a joke waiting…she posted a dedication to my husband on her blog in […]

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Courtney Wagner July 1, 2009 - 4:20 pm

Those Canadians must be getting quite a stockpile up there. A very similar thing happened to my brother. He and his wife were detained and my brother’s registered and very legal firearm were confiscated, never to be seen again.

Blessings,
Courtney

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Michelle July 1, 2009 - 4:27 pm

Oh, Kelly, I’m so sorry that happened! Unfortunately, its not just a canadian thing…*rolls eyes*. New Orleans/Katrina ring any bells?
Unfortunately because its Canadian law though, I doubt there’s a way the NRA could help.

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Heather July 1, 2009 - 5:18 pm

Ashley,
Respectfully, I believe I did answer the question.

You also apparently missed my additional comment that I do not believe that the institution of socialistic policies will automatically translate to the abuse of a country’s citizens. I freely acknowledge that there are varying degrees of control between socialism and communism–and even between various socialistic regimes.

China is, without question, more oppressive than most European countries (or Canada, or Australia, for that matter).

My point is that the two “economic models” are closely related. The fact that socialism appears to initially be more “citizen-friendly” does not negate the reality that in either case, the government is given (or takes) a dictatorial form of control over the lives of the people.

So, really the problem is not the chosen method of “sharing of resources” (regardless of what you call it). The real issue is the form of government ( ie oligarchy, dictatorship) that is needed to be able to continuously manage those styles of economy.

Today, Europe may seem tame compared to China. But how about twenty years from now? As each successive generation learns to be increasingly more reliant on government care (and less likely to be thinking for themselves), the government will wield more power over individual decisions (including reproduction, livelihood and religion). Such control will become necessary in order to maintain “peace” and continued “equal distribution” (or lack thereof) of goods and services. If people want to continue to receive government care, they will need to be ready to do what it says or face consequences.

Suppose a person wanted to walk from Denver, Colorado to Austin, Texas. He won’t arrive after the first, second or third step. He might see some really interesting things along the way and even take an occasional minor detour. The journey could take many weeks, or months, depending on how aggressively he presses forward. But if he generally keeps his nose pointed in the right direction, and continues to march along–He’ll eventually get where he’s going.

Whether we wade into “big government” slowly via incremental socialism (as has been happening in the US since before most of us was born) or dive in headfirst, the ultimate result is going to be a loss of personal freedom–perhaps not immediately…but tomorrow’s freedom is what is being bargained away at this time. We’re pointed that direction and will get there eventually.

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Heather July 1, 2009 - 5:50 pm

Oh, Ashley,

I want to be clear that I am not trying to debate with you or try to “prove” that socialism is worse than communism. Your original question was directed to Ben’s statement and I don’t know what he is thinking about that.

My perspective is that the main difference between socialism and communism is simply a matter of degree of government control. And it wouldn’t be all that steep of a slide to move from moderate socialism to full-blown communism. Therefore, it seems pointless to try to make a huge case over the name by which the particular economic system is called.

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Word Warrior July 1, 2009 - 6:14 pm

Heather,

Very well said. I’m completely astounded as to why so many people think socialism is “harmless and good”. It’s as if people on either side of the debate are from two different planets, or talking about two different things altogether. *shrug*

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Lisa July 1, 2009 - 9:13 pm

Here is an interesting video that explains the different systems of government, what the US is supposed to be, what we’ve become, and where we may be headed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DioQooFIcgE

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KB July 2, 2009 - 12:24 am

Kelly,
Wow, I go AWOL from the Internet for a couple of days and missed all of this!!!
Please, please, please keep us updated on what happens with your husband’s case.
The good that I can see coming of this (I’ve been trying to do this more often lately) is that those of us who weren’t aware of how crazy things are have a serious wake-up call. We live pretty far from the Canadian border, and in our neck-of-the-woods gun ownership is pretty much a coming-of-age requirement :-). However, this just lets us know we shouldn’t take such a thing for granted.

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Isaac July 3, 2009 - 12:17 pm

Unbelievable! My wife and I traveled to Ontario last year and experienced something similar in Toronto, although not nearly as traumatizing! 🙂 We went to visit the CN Tower and as we were going through security a guard happened to notice my pocket knife clip in my pocket. He stopped me and proceeded to take all of my personal information down and then confiscated my small little two inch pocket knife! Still makes me mad when I think about it… 🙂

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Christine July 3, 2009 - 2:04 pm

First of all, I find it interesting that everyone considers Canada to be a totally Socialist country. Because it certainly is not. The free market is alive and well here. More so than the American free market is at the moment, if you’ve read a newspaper since mid-2008. Our market is in fact what is referred to as a “mixed market” which is exactly the same as the type of market in the USA. Look it up. The success of an economic system is defined, in my opinion, by its health during an economic crisis such as we have right now. Why are we a relatively financially healthy country right now, while American banks are not doing so hot? A slightly higher level of control on financial institutions. Which the American government is considering emulating.
I’ll keep my slightly higher “socialist” economic policies if it means less people in poverty and less home foreclosures.
As for gun control. It’s been mentioned here that Canada has a “socialist” health care system. We do. It works well. It means rich people wait the same amount of time for a non-essential surgery. But EVERYONE is treated. This also means that the government has it in their best interests to keep people from dying and getting hurt. How do we do this? One way has been through gun control laws. Even within Canada, gun ownership varies. Ontario has the lowest percentage gun ownership. It also has the lowest percentage gun related suicides, homicides, and accidental deaths. Coincidence?
I’ll keep my gun control if it means a few more people will be alive at the end of the year.
Ben would be happy to know that in Canada, violence is not the answer and if we want to “resist the government” we have unions that can strike and make those above them (often the government) see their point of view. We also have elections. Much more frequently than the USA. Look it up. We also have extremely easy access to our government representatives at all levels. What I’m trying to say is, in Canada, we have pacifist, “Christian” ways of approaching our government when we see the need for change. We don’t need to threaten them with guns.
Also. Having attended ONLY public schools in Canada, I can tell you that those government representatives I was talking about visited my schools a total of four times during my 14 year government funded education. These visits were always a forum for the students to say what they wanted to see done in their home town, not the politicians telling us what we wanted. I have been encouraged by the PUBLIC, GOVERNMENT FUNDED education system to question the government since I was six years old. One of those schools was a Catholic school. So I feel that your comment that inferred that the Canadian “socialist” government prosecutes Christians is incorrect.
Isaac, the same would have happened in the empire state building, I promise you.
My point in all of this? Do your research before accusing a country with similar culture and values to your own of being backwards. Maybe you’ve got the book upside down?

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Rachel Falaschi July 3, 2009 - 9:02 pm

Christine,

It is obvious that what you value is different than what many of us value. What would research have to do with anything? We know where we differ (national healthcare) and we believe that where we differ makes you look backwards. As far as the book being upside down, that is exactly what our founding fathers wanted. They turned the world and the idea of government upside down. Instead of being ruled by a king they believed it best that the people were ruled by themselves. Revolutionary idea. I’ll take it.

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Heather July 3, 2009 - 9:45 pm

I’m not sure who is the “everyone” who labeled Canada as *totally* socialist. Two of my comments specifically state that I understand there are varying degrees of government control.

I’m going to be very honest. I personally have nothing against the concept of “socialism” or communism, for that matter. Actually Jesus taught a form of socialism and the early church (at least in one instance) practiced it(see Acts 4:32-37). And before that, the Israelite nation practiced a form of “socialized” care. The concept of socialism was God’s first. It works if people willingly participate under a just and righteous authority structure.

The problem is that unregenerate humans are not naturally capable of following God’s pattern. If the government kicks God out of the equation we are left with “people” and even the most well meaning people are fallible at best.

Fewer guns may very well translate to lower gun-related deaths. But laws restricting gun ownership/usage are not a guarantee of overall lower crime rates. If a person is bent on murdering another, he will find a way to do it. The Bible tells us that the first murderer used a rock.

I don’t recall anyone here advocating firearm-based violence as the way to send our government a message of any sort.

The issue is not “guns” or “health care” or Social Security or any other single facet. I think that the concern here is over the path on which we, as a nation, set our feet when our government begins stripping us of rights (without majority consent) that have been granted by our Constitution.

Whatever God allows is what Christians need to accept. He has His reasons. However, it may not be prudent to be “asking” for any more government intervention than we already have. There will most likely come a point when the demands of our leaders will directly oppose those of God…I would prefer to be able to continue to obey both in good conscience.

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Deb July 4, 2009 - 2:12 pm

Hi,
Wow, I am glad that your husband made it back safely.
I just wanted to comment on the Canadian lady who said that everyone gets treated for healthcare. I am really curious about that as we frequently have people who can afford it come to the U.S. for treatment as the wait list in Canada is so long that death often happens before treatment. Also, I don’t believe that everything is treated and I think there is an age cutoff which may be quite young in our current society. There is a reason so many people from so many other countries come to the U.S for healthcare. I hope that we don’t lose that with policies that are being implemented.
Hope all turns out well with the baby.

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Julie July 9, 2009 - 8:15 am

I am glad that Canada is so strict with their gun laws, and I do hope the USA follows suit. It is bad enough trying to live in this country without having a bunch a gun-toting rednecks driving around with weapons. I wish Canada had been a bit stricter with your husband instead of just a slap on the wrist. He needs to learns that guns are not the answer. I believe Jesus would agree.

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