Scotland is a bit safer. 179 knives have been taken off the streets.

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: chcarnage
If I'm correctly informed, even in the US the gun laws vary because you can't hunt wild game or make target practice in urban areas (or you don't need a magazine with many bullets for self defense or whatever the reasoning may be). And other states don't folow this reasoning and are just fine.

They do vary, but you generally can not discharge a firearm in an urbanized area, simply because there is no safe way to do it.

If carrying a handgun, it is standard practice to carry two full magazines (one loaded). Basically, IF you do happen to have to use it one time in your life, it would be stupid not to have a little extra capacity (keep in mind that handguns, especially the smaller ones meant for CCW, are extremely inaccurate, so multiple shots are often needed).

 

[CanOWorms]

I am more interesting in learning about how these knives were confiscated. They stopped and searched 20,000 people in less than one month in one area. Were these people stopped randomly or being arrested or what?

The peasant mentality that prevails in many European countries easily lets their governments run amok with crazed power.

 

[chcarnage]

@SarcasticDwarf: Thanks for the explanation.

Originally posted by: Rainsford
The question is really how effective such a ban would be. You'll expend a fair amount of effort taking knives away from people who had no intention of committing a crime, while taking knives away from criminals will be quite difficult.

To your first post: Yes the British government does some stupid and ineffective things, in my opinion, too. The whole CCTV fanatism benefits the courts but not the victims.

I also think that reducing the number of knifes is hopeless if Joe's Knife Shop countinues to sell them to everyone for 3£ a pop. But I don't think controlling the knife carriers is more difficult than controlling the average population. Remember these are mostly 12-22 year old adolescents, not hard core criminals with weapon hideouts who import their arms if necessary.

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
I am more interesting in learning about how these knives were confiscated. They stopped and searched 20,000 people in less than one month in one area. Were these people stopped randomly or being arrested or what?

The peasant mentality that prevails in many European countries easily lets their governments run amok with crazed power.

The police tases them into unconsciousness and reanimates those who haven't had a weapon in their anus :disgust:

 

[1EZduzit]

All that effort to take away a couple of hundred knifes?? Heh, I wonder how long it would take to make 179 knifes? Get a strap of high carbon steel, heat it up, pound it into shape. temper it, and sharpen it.

If they start putting everyone into prison that carries a knife they better start bulding more prisons.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
All that effort to take away a couple of hundred knifes?? Heh, I wonder how long it would take to make 179 knifes? Get a strap of high carbon steel, heat it up, pound it into shape. temper it, and sharpen it.

If they start putting everyone into prison that carries a knife they better start bulding more prisons.

Sounds to me if they do enforce a ban on knives people already are in prison.

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: Rainsford
You know what I REALLY want to know, why you gun and weapon nuts don't get your panties in such a twist about NON-gun rights?

And before I get the NRA crowd jumping on me, I think the Brits have an even stupider view of weapons than a lot of countries. They are the most underarmed and over policed nation on earth, and yet I've seen a lot of stats suggesting NYC is far safer than London. The big brother approach to crime is even less effective than the big brother approach to everything else (listen up, "conservatives"), yet for all the obvious faults, a lot of people seem to be pursuing it with gusto. I really don't understand it even a little bit.

And I think that's worth repeating, banning guns is silly an ineffective for EXACTLY the same reason tapping everyones' phones and tracking your every move is ineffective. Large scale, big brotherish approaches are a waste because they spend far too much energy harassing law-abiding citizens and are too easy for the real criminals to avoid.

For the record, I do. I support EVERY right we have!
What chaps my ass is how these people can be so for our rights in every aspect EXCEPT guns. Too many people forget the 2nd is every bit as important as the 1st, the 4th etc etc.

And yes, I support ALL our rights.

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: chcarnage
The slippery slope argument fails to differentiate between different areas. The scotlanders that live in villages or in the woods can carry knifes all they want. But in city streets the knifes aren't used to carve wood, they are often involved in robberies or gang related youth violence... different cost-value ratio there.

It's similar to fireworks. They are fun and fine on Independence day but could be fatal in soccer stadiums. The logical consequence is to regulate things differently and it's no slippery slope here either, because I've yet to hear from a European country banning fireworks on its national holiday.

If I'm correctly informed, even in the US the gun laws vary because you can't hunt wild game or make target practice in urban areas (or you don't need a magazine with many bullets for self defense or whatever the reasoning may be). And other states don't folow this reasoning and are just fine.


The substitution argument is questionable too, because knifes have always been the most common tool in youth violence, much more than firearms anyway.

It is a slippery slope.
Lets say you ban knives in cities but not in countries. Makes it pretty damned easy for a criminal to get a knife then doesnt he? He takes a hour drive and buys all he wants, then back to the city.
So knife crime is still a problem, politicians say the problem is knives are brought in so they try to extend the ban to countries. Same thing we have now with gun rights.

More to the point, the question is are you a trustworthy productive citizen in your country, or are you simply a member of an unruly chatoic group that needs to be lorded over by oppressive governments?

Which would you like to think of yourself as? Banning knives or firearms does nothing but hurt the law abiding citizens, and does nothing to criminals except make it easier to prey on those who are unable to defend themselves and cant even own a weapon to do so if they wished.