I'll miss NYC the most....

[pushtorelease]

Like most Canadians, my partner & I have always taken advantage of the close proximity of the US for visits & getaways - hitting SF or NYC at least once a year, weekends in Seattle or Portland etc. That's apparently over now. Last week at the airport, my partner, after being held for over 2 hours, fingerprinted, photographed and threatened with arrest unless he signed an admittance of guilt, was banned from entering the US. Period. Crime? HIV positive. He's been HIV positive for 24 years, teaches twice a year at a college in Vermont, publishes his writing through SF publishers and pays a good share of American taxes. Yeah, we've always been aware of the law, brought in by Msr. Jesse Helms in the early '90's, but really in 2009, I thought those days were gone. Naive, I guess. What pisses me off the most though is that the right to enforce this law is put in the hands of some hourly wage immigration officer. Homophobic? Maybe. Racist? Perhaps. Who knows - maybe he was just in a bad mood. And although I really try to shy away from massive conspiracy theories.....the fact that today, June 1st the rules have changed and Americans and Canadians alike cannot cross the border without a passport for the first time in history, well, suddenly it all starts to make some sense in a creepy kind of way..... I find it all very disturbing.

 

[maytagbear]

I am sad about it....

All my life I heard it called "The World's Longest Undefended Border," and thought it was wonderful that all you needed to cross was a birth certificate or photo id.

I firmly believe that the BushII administration overreacted throughout its reign.

I also believe that the United States has set a terrible example in a lot of things, but particularly so by this.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[mattl]

Here in Michigan we have a special drivers license available to cross the border. It's a bit pricey, but cheaper and less of a hassle then carrying a passport.

I too used to like to drive over to Canada with out too much thought, no more I guess.

 

[turquoisedude]

The province of Quebec just brought out an "enhanced" driver's license too; it costs another $40 on top of regular renewal fees, so it would work out cheaper to have a passport. I guess because I used to travel a lot for work and because I have extended family in the UK, I have never really let my passport expire and I always used it when crossing the border, so it has not been a big problem for me.
The sad thing is that 'spur of the moment' tourism is going to go down the tubes - the folks in Plattsburgh who used to drive up to Montreal for dinner and a show or two during festival season are going to say 'To hell with that' now and likewise, I am betting there are going to be a LOT less Quebeckers visiting Bar Harbor this summer...
What problem was this new move supposed to solve anyway??

 

[toggleswitch2]

Power corrupts; abolute power corrupts abosolutely.

I personally want to apologize for my country and our latest and most-recently-dethroned despot and tyrant-in-charge and the damage he and his peeps have done.

I was done with him very early-on, but was sickened when we had that large blackout on August 14, 2004 (?) and he blamed Canada for the problem....without knowing a THING, factually.

Absolutely disguisting.

 

[re563]

yet more to hurt the economy

The powers at be really didn't think this through. I personally don't believe they understand what this will do to both of our economies. Like stated before, people from the U.S. would cross the border for a quick get-a-way, etc. Now, just how many people will either renew their passports or get new ones. Here in Florida, as much as we complain about the "snow birds", our economy needs them. A lot of Canadians live down here for the winter, own property, etc. This is just totally sad, very very sad.

 

[rp2813]

Bottom line is that Canadians have good reason to look down their noses at the U.S. and all the backward activity in D.C. thanks to the likes of backwater members of Congress such as Jesse Helms.

Ralph

 

[sudsmaster]

The ban in HIV positive people is amazingly ignorant. It should be repealed.

The requirement for passports, however, I think is in response to very real security concerns... where terrorists find it easier to enter Canada or Mexico and then simply drive across the border in the USA to blow up this or that. Of course, it doesn't keep many thousands from crossing the southern US border illegally anyway.