Don't bring ammunition to Turks & Caicos

[Disney Bobby]

You didn't have to "drown yourself" in the news to hear about this story. It was posted all over the place. People were talking about it.

Yes, it could still happen, and I could be called up to the 49ers to play QB.

I don't remember seeing it anywhere other than here. The world is bigger than what you see and "people talking about it".

And your 49ers QB analogy is ridiculous. People get complacent or make innocent mistakes every day that lead to terrible consequences. Half the world is below median intelligence. Humans make honest mistakes. There should be some consideration for that in any civilized society.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I wonder what would happen if large numbers of people decided to protest the law by bringing in a single piece of ammunition to Turks & Caicos. Maybe they would overwhelm the court & prison system, and spark T&C to reevaluate the law.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I wonder what would happen if large numbers of people decided to protest the law by bringing in a single piece of ammunition to Turks & Caicos. Maybe they would overwhelm the court & prison system, and spark T&C to reevaluate the law.

Or.... Maybe they'd go to prison for 12 years, whilst whining about their victimhood to anyone who would listen. I don't know about you, but they could count me out of a protest that has the potential to land me in prison for 12 years. There's also the possibility that T&C could decide 12 years obviously isn't enough of a deterrent, so they raise it to 20.

 

[Genie+]

Last month my niece called me crying. She was driving FL to PA and in the wee hours driving 20mph over the speed limit in VA.

She is DEVASTATED. It is a CRIMINAL OFFENSE. It will be life changing if* it gets put on her record.

Levels of Speeding Offenses in Virginia
General speeding usually is charged up until 19 miles per hour over the speed limit or less, however, once it transitions to 20 miles per hour over the speed limit or more, it typically becomes reckless driving, which is a criminal offense rather than just a traffic infraction.

But at the end of the day, does it make sense to boycott VA because their laws are different, or pay extra attention not to speed?

*We’ve gotten a lawyer. There are no other offenses involved. Hopefully VA will be satisfied with fines but there is no guarantee.

 

[VandVsmama]

I wonder what would happen if large numbers of people decided to protest the law by bringing in a single piece of ammunition to Turks & Caicos. Maybe they would overwhelm the court & prison system, and spark T&C to reevaluate the law.

Great idea. Everybody else can go first.

 

[sam_gordon]

I wonder what would happen if large numbers of people decided to protest the law by bringing in a single piece of ammunition to Turks & Caicos. Maybe they would overwhelm the court & prison system, and spark T&C to reevaluate the law.

Here's my guess...
1) They confiscate passports (so can't leave the island).
2) Folks would have to pay to stay somewhere until their court date (which will now be a while because of everyone else "protesting").
3) Then folks get sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Sure, see how far you get.

 

[sam_gordon]

Last month my niece called me crying. She was driving FL to PA and in the wee hours driving 20mph over the speed limit in VA.

She is DEVASTATED. It is a CRIMINAL OFFENSE. It will be life changing if* it gets put on her record.

Levels of Speeding Offenses in Virginia
General speeding usually is charged up until 19 miles per hour over the speed limit or less, however, once it transitions to 20 miles per hour over the speed limit or more, it typically becomes reckless driving, which is a criminal offense rather than just a traffic infraction.

But at the end of the day, does it make sense to boycott VA because their laws are different, or pay extra attention not to speed?

*We’ve gotten a lawyer. There are no other offenses involved. Hopefully VA will be satisfied with fines but there is no guarantee.

But it's an accident. Everyone makes mistakes.

Realistically, I'm guessing they'll knock it down to 10-15 over.

 

[Genie+]

But it's an accident. Everyone makes mistakes.

Realistically, I'm guessing they'll knock it down to 10-15 over.

I hope so for her sake.

 

[Imzadi]

Or.... Maybe they'd go to prison for 12 years, whilst whining about their victimhood to anyone who would listen. I don't know about you, but they could count me out of a protest that has the potential to land me in prison for 12 years. There's also the possibility that they could decide 12 years obviously isn't enough of a deterrent, so they raise it to 20.

Not only 12 years in prison, one of the U.S. prisoners said in an interview, it's an OUTDOOR prison, exposed to ALL the elements, rain, sun. The mosquitos biting all night, EVERY night, is the worst part. And he said they don't give you anything to do. You just sit there all the time and try not to go crazy.

I would think triple checking one's bags for ammo would be a lot easier than that.

 

[Imzadi]

I don't remember seeing it anywhere other than here. The world is bigger than what you see and "people talking about it".

And your 49ers QB analogy is ridiculous. People get complacent or make innocent mistakes every day that lead to terrible consequences. Half the world is below median intelligence. Humans make honest mistakes. There should be some consideration for that in any civilized society.

You do know you are pretty much admitting you are losing this debate if you getting to not everyone knows about the law and that half the world is below median intelligence.

In the U.S. "Ignorance to the law is no excuse." is a saying we have here, and probably in T&C and most places in the world.

Also, also in the U.S, laws are made with the expectation that people have a reasonable intelligence. That's actually Googleable. I Googled it once for another DIS debate.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I wonder what would happen if large numbers of people decided to protest the law by bringing in a single piece of ammunition to Turks & Caicos. Maybe they would overwhelm the court & prison system, and spark T&C to reevaluate the law.

Great idea. Everybody else can go first.

Here's my guess...
1) They confiscate passports (so can't leave the island).
2) Folks would have to pay to stay somewhere until their court date (which will now be a while because of everyone else "protesting").
3) Then folks get sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Sure, see how far you get.

Yeah, I'm not interested in trying it either! Just thought it could be an interesting experiment for all those that think it's unfair and want to try and change things.

 

[Imzadi]

Here's my guess...
1) They confiscate passports (so can't leave the island).
2) Folks would have to pay to stay somewhere until their court date (which will now be a while because of everyone else "protesting").
3) Then folks get sentenced to 12 years in prison.

That's what is happening now with the first guy we heard about. (Although he's actually the second guy arrested.) He said his parent came down and are staying in a AirBnB with him. They are using a good portion of their life savings.

That actually helps the economy down there.

In 3 months we may find Turks & Caicos starts planting ammo in people's luggage and their trial dates are routinely put off for a few months. "I've never held a gun, let alone shoot one in my life. I don't know how it got in my luggage." Hmm.

 

[declansdad]

I wonder what would happen if large numbers of people decided to protest the law by bringing in a single piece of ammunition to Turks & Caicos. Maybe they would overwhelm the court & prison system, and spark T&C to reevaluate the law.

Or maybe people could just follow the laws of countries they visit.

 

[Imzadi]

TWO of the five American prisoners have been released and are now back home on U.S. soil.

Bryan Hagerich: The judge found exceptional circumstances in his case and that the mandatory minimum of 12 years was unjust and disproportionate to the crime committed. He sentenced Hagerich to a suspended 52-week sentence and a fine of $6,700, which he paid. Then Hagerich was given his passport and returned to the United States without serving the sentence.

He arrived back in Pennsylvania late last Friday, hugging his kids at the airport.

Later, in an interview with legal expert, Dan Abrams, on News Nation, when asked what Hagerich thought was the reason for his release, Hagerich said he believes it was due to the "talk" that the U.S. bipartisan delegation had with the government leaders in Turks and Caicos last Monday. A senator from each state of the five U.S. prisoners went. He thinks the delegation also pointed out that an island whose main source of income is in tourism, wouldn't want to lose all the American tourists.

Hagerich also mentioned that some T&C residents told him that it was basically a shake down for money.

Tyler Wenrich, from Richmond, VA, was sentenced to a three-week prison sentence. Since that's coincidentally how long he had been in prison, the judge changed the sentence to time served, and fined Wenrich an additional $9,000. He paid that and went home last Thursday.

 

[georgina]

But it's an accident. Everyone makes mistakes.

Realistically, I'm guessing they'll knock it down to 10-15 over.

They probably will. But driving 20 mph over the speed limit is most definitely NOT an accident. It is reckless driving. Late at night? Use cruise control. I live in Virginia and people driving like this on the highway is dangerous.

I hope they do boycott Virginia roads. We had a run-in with a nasty SC state trooper once and I will no longer vacation in SC.

 

[sam_gordon]

They probably will. But driving 20 mph over the speed limit is most definitely NOT an accident. It is reckless driving. Late at night? Use cruise control. I live in Virginia and people driving like this on the highway is dangerous.

I hope they do boycott Virginia roads. We had a run-in with a nasty SC state trooper once and I will no longer vacation in SC.

My accident comment was tongue in cheek based on others responses in this thread.

I agree on the cruise control thing though. I have a "heavy foot" and rely on CC to keep me from going too crazy (set at 7-9 over the limit). I still have people blowing by me.