In Canada Just Holding A Gun Gets You THREE YEARS in jail Minimum!

Alone in a private home, Leroy Smickle was holding a loaded handgun that apparently didn’t belong to him, and trying to take a photo of himself on a laptop. Now he is facing a three year jail sentence. Under Canada Law he gets three years MINIMUM for just holding a gun. The Attorney General of Canada. “Whether firearms are used as tools of intimidation or status, they present ‘the ultimate threat of death to those in [their] presence.’ When loaded, ‘death and serious injury are literally at hand, only an impulse and trigger-pull away,’” argues the factum from Ontario’s attorney general. “The illicit nature and deadly risk inherent in a charge of possession of a loaded prohibited firearm justifies the three-year mandatory minimum sentence in all but the most minor and exceptional of cases.” What's wrong with that?

http%3A//www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/gun-case-shows-danger-of-mandatory-minimum-sentencing/article546032/



• We should adopt similar laws in the USA.

• Yes, the US should. But no way is this really enforced in Canada. This is some unusual case.

• R2 he has already been convicted.

• Do you really think everyone that holds a gun in Canada is convicted? I do not.

• Actually, a guy knew in hIgh school went to jail for 10 months for brandishing a fake gun at school, telling people it was real. He never fired it. Just showed it to people and kept it in his locker. It was a toy.

  Vancouver%20girl

• Brandishing it is one thing, holding a gun is something else. The title of this thread says "holding a gun" - I think there are all sorts of Hell's Angels, petty criminals, drug dealers that are holding guns right now and not getting charged for it.

• What are the odds of the police breaking in the door with a warrant while Krusty is holding a gun ?

• Leroy Smickle.

• Nothing

• We don't mess around up here, eh?

  Canada

• R 1&2: Are f'ing idiots? We are already several steps from full blown Fahrenheit 451 w/ big brother watching every move we make. Thanks to all who wanted the Arabic, Morrocan, somewhat black, moronic, person as our president.

  me

• That's another issue, this is guns.

• [quote] I think there are all sorts of Hell's Angels, petty criminals, drug dealers that are holding guns right now and not getting charged for it. If they are caught by the police holding a gun, then they face three years in prison.

• Good for Canada. In spite of having many things in common, the US and Canada have very different political environments. This type of law would not be politically feasible in the US, there are far too many guns in the US to allow for practical enforcement, and the Second Amendment adds legal barriers. As a US citizen, I strongly object to people who aren't citizens or permanent residents trying to influence our laws (except when our laws effect others). I don't think I have a right to tell Canada what they should do with their gun laws. That's up to Canadians to decide.

• The majority of America's population would be in prison. America has too many cultures with different values to do something like this.

• I wish the US had a similar law. More to the point, though, what kind of idiot takes a picture of himself with a loaded gun in the first place? I mean, why does it matter if it's loaded unless he means to kill someone?

• There is more to this case than meets the eye. Read the comment about 5-6 down. He should never have been charged with that offence and the Crown knew it. (The commenter is wrong in that the Crown attorney would set the charge, not the defense attorney.) CAs do this all the time if they disagree with the laws. They stick an unusual charge that is not technically wrong, but not appropriate to the specific case. They know the local judges will either void the law by a not guilty finding, or give someone serious time by following sentencing guidelines for that particular charge.

• Yes, there is more to this case than meets the eye. The GUN was illegal - i.e. unregistered or illegal to possess.

• Canada also has no estate tax!

  Oh%20wait%2C%20you%20might%20be%20against%20that%2C%20nevermind

• That's utter BULLSHIT, lots of Canadians have guns, mostly rifles for hunting but still quite lethal and quite legal.

• They are basically Americans with frozen brains.

• Most CanaDian faces deserve to be viciously Slapped!

• If you get caught with an unregistered gun in NYC, it's a mandatory 2 yr sentence

  Plaxico Burress