We went to Vancouver two years ago. At the border crossing, we were asked if we had any guns with us, (no). Then the nosy guard kept on asking questions, “did we have any guns at home?”, “were they locked”, “could the kids get them?”, and on and on. Without thinking, we answered yes to the first question. She then proceeded to lecture us Americans about eeevil guns. I told hubby to suck it up and be polite and just get across the border or the vaca is ruined. (We were driving to our cruise.)
I would have be sorely tempted to answer in the thickest "Beverly Hillbillies" accent I could muster. "Course they ain't locked and course' the younguns can get em! How's 7 year old Billy-Bob and 10 Year old Bubba suppose to fend off the revenuers and hunt their supper, while's we on our trip way up north?"
I had a similar experience in the UK in the early 1990s. It was a Security Guard that started in on me about the gun violence in the US.
I had to point out to him that the building on the next block was hit a truck bomb (Lorry bomb) by the IRA a week before, and that I have never been on the wrong end of a gun.
I also surmised that there were parts of London (Slough comes to mind) that one would not venture into late at night, even in a country without guns. You don’t need a gun to kill someone.
I honestly don’t think he had ever thought of it that way. Perspective is everything when it comes to opinions.
When we crossed the border on I-5, the Canadian border guards spotted the NRA sticker on our truck and gave us the TSA treatment! Despite our denial of having any weapons we were pulled over into the inspection area.
They completely tore the truck apart looking for anything they could charge us with. They then proceeded to take us into their headquarters and partially stripped searched us!
They had to let us proceed after coming up empty. Never again will my family or I spend a dime there, let alone cross that border again!