Thursday, August 04, 2005

Emery Debacle: Lets make a deal

No info for the DEA
Federal agents mad cause I'm flagrant
--Notorious

The right has been making quite a stink about the Emery case. Yes, it's true he violated some US laws and under our reciprocity arrangements with the US we are obligated to arrest civilians who are breaking US laws and living in Canada. This isn't the first time that a Canuck has been sent to the US for extradition.

But something occured to me while I am reading the news.... Emery is being extradited for selling a relatively benign substance to the US, while in the US, the legislators have just signed a bill to protect gun manufacturers from victims of gun violence. Hmmm.

This is interesting.

Because Toronto just happens to be in the midst of a gang war. And what would their weapon of choice be? Just guess. (Hint: It's not machetes).

And where would those guns be imported from? Or, alternatively, how many assault gun facilities does Canada have?

And how many arrests on American soil of high profile gun manufacturers and distributors will we see?
...............I'll answer for you: Zero.

So there it is: Canada sends the US pot and they send us the means to efficiently kill each other.

I guess I wouldn't be as angry about Emery if the US were making high profile arrests of gun dealers/manufacturers that our reciprocal agreements seem to suggest they should be making.

4 comments:

Les Mackenzie said...

Tommy Chong went to jail for selling bongs - The U.S. has proven time and again they are tough on drugs soft on violence.

I wouldn't call this move anything but status quo.

Emery should enjoy all the media attention he's getting, he may replace Jack Layton as unlikely media whore.

Shamrocks! said...

Les:

Interesting point: They are soft on gun violence, tough on terrorism/drugs.....

I think the US has a high tolerance, or some acceptance at some level of the amount of violent deaths it reaches each year.

I'm thinking this harsh response to Emery's mild transgressions (which will undoubtedly increase anti-americanism) is related to the recent crackdown on the HA in Vancouver....

It's absolutely absurd that they are spending time and effort on Emery, when you factor in that the US is strapped for resources and the ATF is almost broke.

Anonymous said...

Soft on violence?

The country that Canadians like to chide because of the "3 strike rule" and the death penalty?

Shamrocks! said...

I mean "soft" in the sense that US society is accepting of a certain level of gun violence. Not "soft" in terms of legalality/crime and punishment. I should have been more clear.