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Editor’s note: Horror stories of traveling with firearms, especially when those travels involve airports and/or national borders, are not uncommon. Confusing regulations and forms, the fear of having one’s firearms lost or damaged, and unpleasant interactions with airline and government officials all contribute to the maddening experience many hunters face when traveling with guns.
For Virginia hunter Frederick Payne and his son-in-law, their experience with U.S. Customs in Toronto upon returning from a hunting trip in Newfoundland on Oct. 17 was nothing short of abysmal. It took them more than two hours to clear U.S. Customs, even though they had previously been cleared by Canadian Customs and had complied with all regulations, causing them to miss their connecting flight to Richmond.
“It was obvious that we were singled out for special treatment solely because we were lawfully carrying firearms,” said Payne of his ordeal in Toronto.
“Please understand that my concerns go beyond the personal inconvenience and indignities which we experienced,” Payne continued. “The conduct of the officers in question demonstrates a callous indifference to the rights of lawful travelers, as well as to the security needs which they are charged with serving. … I believe that the conduct of these officers reflects a conscious policy to harass American citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights to transport firearms in a lawful manner.”
The following is a letter Payne sent to U.S. Customs Acting Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern describing the poor service of U.S. Customs agents in Toronto. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request made by NRA 10 days ago to comment on this incident, nor did they respond to Payne’s letter.
October 20, 2009
Hon. Jayson P. Ahern
Acting Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20229
Re: Complaint regarding Customs Service—Our file 09-8
Dear Commissioner Ahern:
This will serve to report to you on the quality of service of your officers, based on my recent experience with your personnel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
My son-in-law and I were returning from a hunting trip to Newfoundland this past weekend, October 17. Our flight connections took us through Toronto, and we were informed that we would need to clear U.S. Customs there. Both of us were carrying hunting rifles, along with small amounts of ammunition and related hunting gear, as well as a few keepsakes purchased in Canada. We had previously been cleared through Canadian customs in Toronto on our arrival, as well as by TSA when we left Richmond. Neither of us was carrying anything of even remotely questionable legality, both of us are natural-born U.S. citizens of impeccable character and both of us were in possession of current U.S. passports and next flight boarding passes to Richmond. The rifles, both of which belong to me, were manufactured in the U.S. and were purchased in Virginia, one in 1972, the other in 2006. They were carried in hard-sided cases which were locked in accordance with regulations of the TSA and Air Canada. Both had been previously cleared by TSA and declared in accordance with Canadian law.
Upon our arrival in Toronto, and on retrieving our baggage from the baggage claim, we made our way to the customs station, where we found a long line of travelers waiting to clear primary inspection. After a delay of approximately 45 minutes, we passed through primary inspection without undue incident. Seeing no directions and having not been told where to go by the primary inspector, I headed for the exit to aircraft gates. When I reached the exit, I was stopped by one of your officers who rather peremptorily gestured toward a closed door bearing a small sign for “secondary inspection.” I was not afforded any verbal assistance, nor was there any sign or other device to direct me to where I needed to go.
When I entered that room, I found a substantial group of perhaps 30 people who appeared to be waiting in a group of seats. Across the room, at a remove of perhaps 50 feet, were two stainless steel counters which were equipped with computer terminals and manned by two of your uniformed officers. I found my way to one of these and handed over an envelope, containing my passport and various other materials, which had been provided to me at the primary inspection station. The female officer took the envelope and brusquely directed me to “have a seat over there,” gesturing toward the other travelers. I walked over to another, unmanned, station and stood waiting with my son-in-law who had been directed there a few minutes earlier.
I noted two other officers who appeared to be working, one at a station somehow related to disease control and another having no apparent purpose. There were several other inspection stations (four, as I recall), but none of these was ever manned, despite the backlog of travelers and despite the fact that at least four other uniformed officers were in the room. None of these appeared to be doing anything productive, but were merely strolling around, occasionally chatting to one another in English or (more often) in Spanish.
As we were waiting, it became apparent that the two officers carrying out the inspections were in no hurry to complete their assignments. Shortly after I arrived, the male officer walked away from his station and stayed away for about ½ hour. No one replaced him. The procedure appeared to be for the two officers to call out the names of travelers, who were then to walk over and submit to the inspection. This was not efficient since the officers announced the names in a conversational tone of voice which could not be heard by the travelers and usually had to be repeated 2 or 3 times.
Eventually, my son-in-law’s name was called, and he took his baggage over to the station manned by the male officer. I remained standing next to the unmanned station for several minutes until another officer arrived and rudely directed me to go over and sit down saying, “This is my station.” (He proceeded to stand at the station and do something on the computer terminal, but he performed no inspections.) I did so and waited for another 15 minutes or so, at the end of which time I heard my son-in-law call my name and gesture for me to bring my baggage over to the station next to the one where he was standing. This station was manned by the female agent. According to my son-in-law, she had spoken my name, but she did so in such a low tone that I had not heard her at all.
I walked over to the station, and your officer ordered me to place my baggage on the counter. Unpleasantly surprised by her discourtesy, I did so, suggesting that she might say “please,” to which she made no response. She commenced inspecting my carry-on bag, which contained only a few hunting related optical and electronic devices, a pair of boots and a couple of paperback books. She went through the bag, not bothering to close zippers and the like. She then ordered me to unlock the rifle case, which I did, but she barely looked at the rifle, apparently not bothering to check its make or serial number. She said something about my being able to prove that I had acquired the rifle in the U.S. I recognized this maneuver from the reports of previous experiences of friends and handed her the original of your Form 4457 which I had previously prepared and on which I had listed both rifles, as well as the various electronic and optical devices. Your officer affected not to know which rifle was before her despite the fact that it was plainly marked as a Savage .30/06 and was obviously a bolt action, precisely as described on the form. She then asked where the other rifle was, and I directed her to my son-in-law’s case. She questioned why they were both listed on my form, to which I responded that both rifles belong to me, that I had loaned one to my son-in-law for the trip. She then proceeded to criticize my completion of the form, despite that the fact that it contained all relevant information and had been signed and sealed by another of your officers at the Richmond office.
Next she asked me whether I had bought anything in Canada, to which I replied that I had bought a bottle of rum and indicated that it was in my checked bag. She made no effort to examine it. She then asked me if I was carrying ammunition and, if so, was it less than 2 kilos. I thought this was odd, since the bag bore the Canadian-mandated red and white sticker reading (in English and French) “ammunition.” I indicated that I had 19 rounds of .30/06 ammunition. Here again, she made no effort to check my statement. In fact, she made no effort even to open the checked bag. Eventually, she indicated brusquely that I was free to go. Predictably, she made no effort to direct me where to go, and I had to find my own way out.
This was certainly one of the most incompetent, poorly-managed operations I have ever experienced. The people were grossly inefficient and consistently discourteous, and there appeared to be no supervision or management of any of the personnel. I can say without hesitation that, had I been the female officer’s supervisor, I would have fired her on the spot for incompetence and discourtesy to American citizens. I have been through customs on several occasions, both American and foreign, and I was prepared for a certain amount of unpleasantness. In my admittedly limited experience, U.S. customs officers, in marked contrast to those of other countries, quite typically make the experience gratuitously unpleasant and display both boorishness and incompetence, but nothing prepared me for this level of both.
In the event, it took us over two hours to clear U.S. Customs, during which time we missed our connecting flight to Richmond. Had it not been for the good customer service of Air Canada—whose employees appeared to be genuinely concerned about our plight—we would have been put to major inconvenience and expense. As it was, we could not arrange another flight to Richmond and had to make arrangements for someone to pick us up in Washington.
The performance of your officers was nothing short of disgraceful, and to see them as the “first line” representatives of my native country made me profoundly angry and ashamed. The impression was particularly acute when contrasted with their Canadian counterparts who performed similar duties but who were consistently courteous and efficient. Based on the accounts of others that they have suffered similar experiences at the hands of your officers, I conclude that my experience was essentially typical.
In light of the foregoing, I suggest that it would be appropriate for you to initiate an investigation of the performance of your agency, particularly, but not exclusively, in the Toronto office. I respectfully request that you advise me what steps you intend to take to correct these deficiencies.
By copy of this communication, I am advising Senators Warner and Webb of my concerns, as well as Congressman Perriello and Congressman Cantor, my son-in-law’s representative. I respectfully request that they follow up on my complaint.
Sincerely yours,
Frederick W. Payne
Do you have any horror stories of your own involving traveling with firearms? If so, be sure to leave a comment below.
