Another Ban

[Iain]

Right - and these doctors here have come out with an idea, there is no law, no bill, and I've not heard from any support from MP's.

 

[P95Carry]

I think Iain the feeling is that tho maybe no actual end result - this is just typical of more ''ban this, ban that'' - the cries from anti's in so many directions just seem to get louder and more insistent!

The concern is maybe that with enough of this - possibly (more) new laws will be passed. Sort of ''lobbying'' effect.

 

[Iain]

I don't disagree, just felt it needed pointing out that this is nothing but an editorial in a magazine, albeit a doctor's magazine.

 

[Checkman]

I keep hearing alot about how Europe will replace us as the leader of the free world. If this is an example of European thinking (and much of Europe is Socialist isn't it?) then I have a hard time seeing how the European Union is going to be able to muster up the will power to do the dirty and bloody things that a leader sometimes has to do. This world lives by the law of the jungle. I wonder if England understands that. I mean look at all the trouble we have with our own "enlightened" citizens. One can be too civilized.

 

[horge]

"What am I supposed to use? Harsh Language?" - Han Solo

Actually, I believe that was Vasquez, paraphrased, in 'Aliens'.

 

[ksnecktieman]

80 responses here so far. Yes Ian, we think it is foolish, and probably will never be proposed as a law. What is so silly, is that it would even be spoken. Out of the 80 responders here, on this thread, I think we could create a new law for them, and stop all knife killings in Britain,,, AND probably be unanimous in our vote. LIKE this, maybe? "Issue every citizen a pistol of .32 caliber or larger, send them to a safety class of ten hours, and mandate that they carry it all the time."

 

[javafiend]

Ban all "assault knives"

No honest person could possibly need one.

 

[dustind]

the Home Office says they already have laws restricting carrying and possession of most knives.

They are out of their Minds! I am not even going to legitimize their proposal by responding to it. The entire idea of "knife control" is proof enough that they are crazy. Edit: I am willing to debate knife control, but I will not go as far as they do down to specific features. The entire premiss of knife features being relevant is beneath me.

Oooh, ooohhh.... let's not forget hurtful language, while we're at it.

They have already banned assault language. I am not kidding.

Britain is nothing more than a laughing stock to the civilized world. No offense intended to any of it's residents.

Even if they do not try and actually pass such a ban. The fact that the idea was taken seriously is proof enough of my point.

 

[peacefuljeffrey]

"Doctors call for Kitchen Knife Ban" is a bit different from "Britan to ban Kitchen Knives"

What, you think it's not going to follow that now that it's been suggested, they'll actually DO it?

Place your bets.

My money is on an earnest attempt to ban pointed knives in England. They already can't have lock-blades. Why is this hard to imagine actually happening?

Now, as far as keeping it limited to SHORT pointed blades, I have a Spyderco CoPilot that I am CERTAIN could be used to inflict lethal wounds to the throat. And its blade is only about 1.5 inches or so.

And, um, let's say they not only banned but also managed to CONFISCATE ALL KNIVES in England. Some drunk dude couldn't then murder his wife in a fit of rage using a HAMMER? Will they ban hammers once the knives are gone?

And just what do they plan to do about the untold MILLIONS of pointed kitchen knives around the country in private hands?

"Buybacks?"
Door-to-door confiscatory police searches? (How hard would it be to keep a few knives hidden? The police are really going to search every single house good and hard, including sheds, attics, basements...?)

Still, I wouldn't put it past the assheaded Brits these days. Such moronia coming out of that place in recent decades. The last good thing to come out of the U.K., I fear, was Monty Python's Flying Circus, and they haven't made that since the '70s...

-Jeffrey

 

[Pawcatch]

They already can't have lock-blades.

Wrong!!!UK laws states that you can't carry a locking knife without good reason,but it's legal to own and buy them.

Here's a link to current law and a UK co. that sells locking folders.
www.baconsdozen.co.uk

 

[DRZinn]

And just what do they plan to do about the untold MILLIONS of pointed kitchen knives around the country in private hands?..."Buybacks?" Door-to-door confiscatory police searches? "

After they've been illegal for a few decades, and in British society something no decent person should want to own, then maybe other measures. They turn up the heat slowly. Same concept as if today's gun control laws had been sprung on a 1930s populace.

 

[roo_ster]

Object Lesson

Object lesson, folks. This is the culture that used to rule the waves and on which the sun never set.

Were they defeated by some unstoppable juggernaut of an outside enemy? No, they managed to defeat themselves out of an empire and neuter their culture. It was the self-haters, the enemies within, and those in positions of influence without the spine to stand up to them.

I mourn for the lost Great Britain. I guess we'll have to get used to the "Lesser and Ever-Shrinking" Britain.

If you don't think the US can/is walking down that read, you are
delusional.

 

[Art Eatman]

Well, jfruser, not quite right. The empire collapsed due to two economic reasons: First, the rising cost of projecting military power. Second, the cost of the empire was greater than the profits from it.

It really doesn't matter what you want to do, whether an individual or a country, if you're too poor to afford it.

Art

 

[Iain]

I'll add a third, esp true in the case of India - the argument for keeping other people's countries was lost. Gandhi won, Churchill cried.

 

[G36-UK]

Actually, I believe that was Vasquez, paraphrased, in 'Aliens'.

Close, mate. It was Frost.

I'll admit our laws are getting a bit stupid. I won't say they're crap, but our best "banning object" laws were fished straight from the khazi.

I hear next law is something called the Millennium Education Reform Act. That ought to be fun.

 

[kokapelli]

This is unbelievable! Now they want to ban kitchen knives in he UK! Here is the article.

I suppose they will eventually try and ban rocks too!

 

[joab]

Accident and emergency medics claim the knives serve no useful purpose in the kitchen

Do they also poll chefs to see what equipment is necessary in ORs

Internal organs can be heavily damaged, causing serious injury or death. The doctors said long knives with blunt ends - such as bread knives - would do far less damage.

So does that mean that meat cleavers should pose no threat

Things just keep getting stupider and stupider

 

[Coronach]

I'm going to move this to L&P.

Mike

 

[Taurus 66]

Why bring england's problems here to America?! they're a lost cause! They chose their course of post WW2 government a long time ago and knew where it would take them. First they ban guns; then ban knives; soon they will outlaw baseball bats so nobody can play baseball.

[england]"Whiffle bats may leave unsightly marks, and we in england afterall don't want our men bruised, cut, or scraped ... so we'll outlaw whiffles next. After that is the next step - pens and pencils. These too we know to be "very dangerous weapons" - capable of causing death if placed in the wrong hands."[/england]

 

[Ironworker]

I wonder if any of these "doctors" saw the move version of "I, Robot". They probably believed the Will Smith character to have been the villain for having destroyed the benevolent tyranny of the Computer.

(20 point to the first person who make a Paranoia refrence.)

 

[Pawcatch]

Again,I wondering why this was posted again?Different article,same story.
We should also remember that this was a team of doctors fromn Middlesex that proposed this.The Home Office didn't even jump at supporting this.

 

[Dmack_901]

lol, ha ha. I hope no one believes that the story is true. I mean, the Brits are stupid, but I can't believe they'd do that.

Latest figures from the Scottish Executive show that in 2003, 55 of 108 homicide victims were stabbed by a sharp instrument - often a kitchen knife.

So 53 people were stabbed to death with dull instruments like basketballs?

 

[BB62]

It's for the Children!!

You know, for far too long I have joined those attempting to water down gun laws in the United States. I have now realized that we here in the US ought to go further than we have; to join our friends in the world community in reducing unnecessary violence.

We have a good start in places like Washington, DC , where the Second Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights (which entirely applies to the rights of **individuals**) is just as worthless as a baseball bat in a rugby match. But places like Australia and Great Britian are the places we really need to be emulating. For instance, in Great Britain, where private ownership of firearms (or even replicas) is basically forbidden, and individual rights are laughable - very FEW people have guns. What a paradise!! Rather than all those guns "on the street", only three (count 'em!) groups have guns now - 1) the police, 2) the military, and 3) hardened criminals who appreciate easy prey. The Socialists and Communists are happy too. Isn't that great?

AND, there in Great Britain, unlike our Founders, they understand that the rights our forefathers enshrined in the Bill of Rights are simply relics of a bygone era! My eyes have been opened!!

Now, in a common sense move to further reduce violence, proposals are being discussed to reduce injuries and deaths from POINTY KITCHEN KNIVES. Man, why didn't I think of it? Peace, love, and no pointy kitchen knives! Just like guns, knives are designed for imparting violence - in the matter at hand, to slice and dice. Horrific!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4581871.stm

These people really have got it together. Check out some of the things the article says: "Doctors say knives are too pointed" and "The researchers said there was no reason for long pointed knives to be publicly available at all." These people are sharp! (certainly no pun intended)

Just like firearms, ownership of such dangerous implements needs to be limited to those who can demonstrate a need, and take annual mandatory safety training. After all, it's for the children!

Now, just to demostrate my commitment to peace and love, I propose that we here in the US should ban baseball bat ownership, or at minimum, make padding mandatory on each bat. After all, baseball bats are designed to crush round objects, like skulls, aren't they?

Yours truly,
BB62
Foundation for Peace, Love, and Common Sense Societal Laws

 

[Iain]

I mean, the Brits are stupid

And Americans are fat.

 

[iapetus]

Just for the record, check the responses to the article on the BMJ website:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/330/7502/1221#108353

Almost exclusively "What sort of moronic idea is this?"

Note in particular the response by one British doctor (Ravi A Ramaswami, Consultant Occupational Physician, Gosport, Hampshire):

The true danger is that articles such as this, published in a reputable journal such as the BMJ, enhance the public image of some doctors being out of touch with reality and seeking to impose a 'nanny state' and may pander to the desire of polititians to attempt to solve the problems of society by banning something (one only has to remember that handgun crime in the UK has risen substantially since handguns were banned from legal private ownership). There must be limits to the extent of state intrusion - citizens must take responsibilty for their own actions.