Mr Leather Edmonton 2003 not welcome in US

[mongo]

Mr Leather Edmonton 2003 not welcome in US
DISCRIMINATION / Customs officials examined wedding pictures, then sent him packing

Matt Mills / Xtra West / Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Mr Leather Edmonton 2003, Scott Bryen, was detained and questioned for three-and-a-half hours by US Customs officers at a tiny North Dakota border crossing Aug 2.

Bryen says he and his husband, Stan Sontz, were on their way from Edmonton to a gathering of friends in Oklahoma when a routine random search at the US border crossing turned Kafkaesque.

"We filled out the usual declarations," says Bryen. "They said they were going to do a cursory car search. I watched two of the guards go out. One of them trotted back about five minutes later, and about 10 more followed him out to our car. They had only opened one case out of the whole carload. It happened to be the case with our wedding album in it. They didn't even open up the toy bag."

Bryen says it was only after he and his husband checked into a hotel after their release that they went through their belongings and realized their wedding album had been inspected and rearranged.

more - http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=4&STORY_ID=1997&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=2

How much more proof do we need that the US is turning into a theocratic state?

[xchrom]

1. fuckin tapeworms --scum --

they have a job to do -- and wedding albums make them hold someone up?

[mongo]

2. The worst thing is

that on one of the leather discussion lists I am on, there are several 'pubs that are dismissing this with things like -- well, Canada used to stop people from bringing porn and sex toys in, and this country is so much better than 50 years ago, and there are much worse places to be than the US, yada, yada.

Makes me sick to see other people in the lifestyle dismiss this like they won't be next on the chopping block.

[Siyahamba]

3. For most people, if it doesn't affect them directly, they don't care.

Sadly, that even applies to the GLBT community.

Customs agents have an incredible amount of power to use at their own discretion. They can detain you, turn you away, or bar you from any further entry for whatever reason they deem fit.

[gula]

4. That IS the biggest problem.

I could write tomes on the kind of questioning my girl friend and me were subjected to trying to cross into the US. There are some real sickos working at those borders, and probably not just on the US side.

[xchrom]

6. oh mongo -- these ignorant fucks are a nightmare.

nationalists don't care if they drag the building down on top of their heads -- as long as they get to inflict pain on someone with their phony fascist pride intact.

[zcflint09]

5. The border crossings are disgusting--especally on the US side

Everytime we cross the border--always been more friendly and open on the Canadian entry point than going back into the states. The US border stations are borderline xenophobic and the agents working there seem to be guys who have napoleon complexes and thier constant suspscion shows 24/7. It is one of the reasons that I am very hesitant to cross into Canada these days.

[mitchtv]

7. I imagine not much is happening at the ND crossing

They will talk about it for months. I'm sure they all wanted in on a colorful search. Cretin goldbrickers