bigmark408
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When knives are outlawed only outlaws will have knives.
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Are criminals affected by knife restrictions/bans???
- Thread starter Seriousbladeno1
- Start date
Whatever any other country is doing or banning, no one incarcerates more of their citizens than the United States. It is stupid, ineffective and far more expensive than anything recovered by 'court costs'.
It is stupid to ban knives, but knives aren't firearms - they do nothing to insure our freedoms. No government is going to respect the rights of their citizens because of cutlery. Knife laws are just inconveniences.
It is stupid to ban knives, but knives aren't firearms - they do nothing to insure our freedoms. No government is going to respect the rights of their citizens because of cutlery. Knife laws are just inconveniences.
link2derek
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Great minds think alike, my friend!
I think the OP had a pretty clear answer in mind when he posted the thread, and most of the responses are pretty well worn out tropes. But yes, there is weapons legislation including knives more in response to perceived danger than actual nuisance. The most blatant example is banning exotic and pretty impractical martial arts weapons like throwing stars and nunchakus - unless there was some sort of terrible ninja crime wave, this is legislation based on fantasy. Similarly, gravity knives, switchblades, and other commonly banned knives are not inherently more dangerous than other knives that are perfectly legal.
That's not to say knives are not used in crime - they are. But not all, and probably a significant portion, of knife crimes are not committed by career criminals, and definitely not by career KNIFE criminals. Lots of people get stabbed in anger - with kitchen knives, screwdrivers, broken bottles. Terrible, but not preventible by legislation. Then, there are people who enter altercations and use a knife they have with them. Legislation can be somewhat effective here. There is a good chance these people are normally more or less law-abiding, and that they might not knowingly buy an illegal knife or bring a knife if they knew it was illegal to do so. These might be people with poor judgment and impulse control, but not career criminals.
That leaves two categories: career criminals, and the criminally insane. If career criminals need a weapon, they are unlikely to take the law into consideration, so legislation is moot.
I would also guess they could do better than a knife. Criminally insane people might be similarly disinterested in the law, but they can be hampered by availability. The downside of that is that if they can't get a gun, knife, or similar, they still might resort to very destructive behavior - arson, for instance.
So can knife legislation affect crime? Maybe, somewhat, in some cases. In most cases, it probably can't.
That's not to say knives are not used in crime - they are. But not all, and probably a significant portion, of knife crimes are not committed by career criminals, and definitely not by career KNIFE criminals. Lots of people get stabbed in anger - with kitchen knives, screwdrivers, broken bottles. Terrible, but not preventible by legislation. Then, there are people who enter altercations and use a knife they have with them. Legislation can be somewhat effective here. There is a good chance these people are normally more or less law-abiding, and that they might not knowingly buy an illegal knife or bring a knife if they knew it was illegal to do so. These might be people with poor judgment and impulse control, but not career criminals.
That leaves two categories: career criminals, and the criminally insane. If career criminals need a weapon, they are unlikely to take the law into consideration, so legislation is moot.
I would also guess they could do better than a knife. Criminally insane people might be similarly disinterested in the law, but they can be hampered by availability. The downside of that is that if they can't get a gun, knife, or similar, they still might resort to very destructive behavior - arson, for instance.
So can knife legislation affect crime? Maybe, somewhat, in some cases. In most cases, it probably can't.
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First it was guns then knives. It seems the people have motivations not related to their weapons. They are only restricting the way and not the will.
North Korea is a small country so I bet they would have less people incarcerated. That said do you think they have a higher or lower percentage of the population in prison camps. Keep in mind old school Stalin style gulag slave labor is an integral part of their economy. Your point of excessive incarceration is one that I share but the problem is not the incarceration as much as the failure to defuse the escalating pattern from minor to major offenses, IMO.
North Korea is a small country so I bet they would have less people incarcerated. That said do you think they have a higher or lower percentage of the population in prison camps. Keep in mind old school Stalin style gulag slave labor is an integral part of their economy. Your point of excessive incarceration is one that I share but the problem is not the incarceration as much as the failure to defuse the escalating pattern from minor to major offenses, IMO.
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Just a friendly reminder, as soon as this discussion turns political it is going to be closed. This topic belongs in Knife Laws, not in General Knife Discussion (we are not discussing a specific knife, brand, style, or company, rather we are focusing this discussion on the legalities). Make sense? Off we go.
Well, it makes it easier to pile on charges when a criminal is caught, charges that are normally dropped or reduced by the prosecutor during the plea-bargaining phase.
It does effect criminals, in this specific way.
Unfortunately, it effects a substantially larger number of law abiding citizens. Even if we completely disregarded individual rights and took a financial look at knife laws, they would cost a lot for no payoff. These types of laws result in wasted labor and no real penalty to the criminal.
AntDog
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They do indeed brother! :thumbup:
You kidding? This is a incarceration rates per 100,000 adults map:First it was guns then knives. It seems the people have motivations not related to their weapons. They are only restricting the way and not the will.
North Korea is a small country so I bet they would have less people incarcerated. That said do you think they have a higher or lower percentage of the population in prison camps. Keep in mind old school Stalin style gulag slave labor is an integral part of their economy. Your point of excessive incarceration is one that I share but the problem is not the incarceration as much as the failure to defuse the escalating pattern from minor to major offenses, IMO.
We put people away for non-violent offenses that most other nations do not. That is the reason for much of the escalation - jail is where petty thieves and drug abusers become hardened criminals.
A UK knife law (for instance) is much less likely to involve months or years of jail. Here we'll send someone away for a year for having a weapon in the wrong place, even with no intent.
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Of course criminals aren't affected by any knife/gun bans or restrictions. These dumb laws are designed to control the sheeple, not to actually prevent crime.
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