Absurd knife laws....!

[Brit guy]

I'd like to comment about some of the absurdities of knife laws… I’m not commenting on any country in particular, but the UK as prime example, the "powers that be" have a real stick up their backside when it comes to telling people what is and what isn’t allowed on the presumption that one thing is far more deadly than another.

I mean, switchblades/flick knives… well they are banned, but stiletto’s aren’t! Presumably because if you are going to stab someone, you couldn’t do it as well with a Stiletto as a flick knife? Oh come on…
And then there is the “you can’t sell a knife if you call it a fighting knife” but you can sell the same knife if you call it a utility knife (or anything else!)….. how bloody ridiculous! As if a name change will prevent someone for using it for whatever purpose they will!

Why oh why can’t the authorities use at least some modicum of common sense when it comes to this sort of thing?

If some deranged psycho wants to attack someone with a knife, he ain’t bothered what it says on the packet when he buys it…. Hell, he will probably just take one from the kitchen draw anyway!

I have a dozen or so garden implements which are far more deadly than some of these so called “restricted” weapons… just because I purchased them from a gardening supplies, and the handles are mostly leaf green, doesn’t make them any less deadly than if I was to paint them blood red and call them “fighters” (they would then be illegal in the UK)………………….. what a complete croc of poo!!!

I agree that it becomes a different matter if you take one out to the pub with you, but to ban a collector from possessing or purchasing these for his own collection, to be viewed in the privacy of his own home……… well as far as I am concerned, they can go stuff themselves!

There is far too much time and money wasted on the persecution of honest, decent folk who want nothing more than to get on with life, and not enough time and effort into pursuing the real reasons behind knife (and other weapon) attacks.

 

[button]

We feel your pain.:thumbdn:

 

[JTR357]

I feel you man.I live in NJ & though we're supposed to have similar knife laws as NYC.When you look in the book of "Knife Laws Of The 50 States",every state has a clear description...EXCEPT NJ!There's just a bunch of question marks?!
I'm assuming those Q's mean you're under the mercy of the cop,prosecutor & judge:thumbdn:....basically the court can do whatever the hell they want with/to you!

 

[Bufford]

Yes knife laws are absurd. Todays hardware stores carry a wealth of 'so called weapons' that would make a mideval armory look like a toy store.

 

[PURPLEDC]

at the end of the day the only ones the laws protect are the criminals. The laws disarm the law abbiding citizen and put the control in the hands of those who dont follow the laws anyways. Its sad, thats why joining knife rights is so important. We all need to get involved on a bigger level than these forums for the obvious fans. By only expressing our views here, we preach what we allready know to those who allready know it. We need this voice to be heard and understood by those who put these absurdities into law in the first place.

 

[JTR357]

at the end of the day the only ones the laws protect are the criminals. The laws disarm the law abbiding citizen and put the control in the hands of those who dont follow the laws anyways. Its sad, thats why joining knife rights is so important. We all need to get involved on a bigger level than these forums for the obvious fans. By only expressing our views here, we preach what we allready know to those who allready know it. We need this voice to be heard and understood by those who put these absurdities into law in the first place.

Very well said:thumbup:This same argument has been going on for years,yet no one(politicians) seems to get it.

 

[nikoknife48]

I have knives because when I was growing up my father had a cigar box full of them. I would go into his room and open the box and see all the different kinds that he had. I would always find a different one in it every week. Over the years my taste in knives has improved because of a good friend who has an extensive collection of blades. My Father has seen my collection and is very proud of it and I can see the excitement in his eyes when he looks at it. I'm sure it's the same look I had when I was looking in that cigar box. The point I'm making is just because someone has knives doesn't mean they are going to inflict harm on somebody. You don't need a knife to do that.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Knife laws are inherently absurd, whatever they may or may not restrict in any given jurisdiction. Laws controlling behavior in a society make sense: thou shalt not go around damaging thy neighbor. As long as thou damagest not thy neighbor, who cares what tools, implements, weapons, or toys you own or carry?

Laws restricting objects do nothing to change the tendency of humans to squabble, sometimes violently. They only restrict the ability of the ordinary citizen to defend himself from the less well behaved.

Politics: from the Greek "poli" meaning many and the English "ticks" meaning small bloodsucking insects.

 

[flashlife]

Esav, there might be some sense in restricting inherently dangerous objects that pose a serious threat if they get out of control. I'm thinking here of someone walking around with a quart of nerve gas or nitroglycerine in a mason jar, or someone with sticks of dynamite sticking out of his pockets.

These, of course, are in a different class than a knife, which is not apt to fly off and injure someone due to the owners negligence. Perhaps this is where the 'reasonable person' caveat comes in. A reasonable person doesn't carry such things as nitro, etc around in public, whereas, a reasonable person always carries a knife.

Assessing the threat is critical...a jug of nitro is (to my mind) a much greater threat to public health than a pocket knife...but then I don't live in UK, San Francisco, nor NJ.

 

[Haze]

The thing that really nips me the most about the UK is just carrying a knife makes you a criminal.
The knife has never even been used in a crime, yet you can expect to be charged and probably fined even for your first offence

Of course if you have a knife your clearly on your way to or from a murder ..........

 

[TreeButcher]

it's all about control and most people let their emotions control them, so the politicians address the emotional factor, not the root of the issue - who is directly responsible for criminal acts. The result is that politicians restrict the rights of those that obey the law, and do nothing about those that don't - by definition the criminals.
The poor guy in the UK that had to pull his barbed wire 'cause the thieves might get hurt as they're tresspassing is a perfect example.

Then there was the knifing in a New York subway, and the mayor of D.C (Out of jurisdiction!) called for more gun contro... huh? That was back in the early '90s.

The bottom line here is that we can't rely on anyone else to protect us personally. The last line of defence begins at the tips of our fingers, and I am eternally grateful for our troops and allies for having the courage, honor and responsibility for bringing the fight to our enemies before they bring the fight to us. I have served, now I'm too old, and I have my daughters to protect as well.

 

[BoxANT]

Unfortunately there is a number of people who feel that "if I don't use something, why would you have to use it?"

They feel that if they don't need/want to carry a knife, gun, baton, ect then you shouldn't need/want to carry one either.

If those people vote, politicians listen. All it takes is someone to say "lets get these dangerous weapons off of our streets!" Unfortunately, this could be translated into "lets get these tools out of the hands of our lawful citizens!".

 

[Arkeld]

Unfortunately there is a number of people who feel that "if I don't use something, why would you have to use it?"

I believe it´s more of a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" kind of thing going on. For those who don´t know, the three monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouth are part of a larger metaphor about human lives. They represent the fact that, as children, they are sheltered by their parents from all bad things.

In that respect, many people today are children. They close their eyes to what´s going on in the world and when somebody, by virtue of carrying a knife, gun or whatever, reminds them that violence, crime and whatnot are a part of life, they become very scared. And, like children, they ask their parents (politicians) to remove the offending items from sight.

They sadly fail to realize that not seeing these items every day has no influence whatsoever on their chance of being assaulted by a criminal. It´s a cognitive step many today simply fail to make.

My job in crime investigation has given me great insight into what people are capable of and also that those so inclined will not be stopped by laws. Most murders I have first-hand knowledge of have been committed with whatever tools the murderer had at his/her disposal, be that proper weapons, kitchen knives, a broken-off leg of a chair or just their bare hands. None of them said to themselves: "Wait, I don´t have my trusty switchblade at hand, let´s not kill that person".

On the other hand, I know that one particular lady, who was brutally beaten to death by burglars, might well still be alive today if she had had a weapon to defend herself with...

It´s immensely saddening to me that people are willing to give up their freedom and safety for the sake of false security.

P.S. Not to mention any knives carried entirely as tools.