What would you do if carrying a knife became illegal in your country?

Louky said:
So, unlike gun enthusiasts (of which I am also a part), there is no effective defense association or professional organization.
The market is collapsing, and many small knife makers are shutting down.
Worse, knife culture (which is important in France) is disappearing.
Click to expand...
This is sad to hear. I know we have some political differences from our European brothers and sisters, but we do have common interests, such as knives (and guns!).

If knives became illegal here, I would probably decide to just openly carry a rifle in response...displaying that the time has come.;)

On a more tame response, how "flexible" is the use of a knife for your profession viewed? I would think your local law enforcement in smaller villages would be more accommodating, but you could identify as an amateur sous chef, semi-professional package opener, a social media knife-tester...🤣

The problem with "laws" are the poorly written ones that give government flexibility to interpret and enough ambiguity to create fear amongst the law-abiding. Governments have a long history of targeting objects and subjecting their constituents to fearful support by demonizing tools rather than the actual criminal perpetrators. That's a sign that change is necessary in government but the "will of the people" rarely have the stomach to vote or do other things that makes them uncomfortable but necessary for change.

Here's to hoping for a much "sharper" future in France!

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
This is sad to hear. I know we have some political differences from our European brothers and sisters, but we do have common interests, such as knives (and guns!).

If knives became illegal here, I would probably decide to just openly carry a rifle in response...displaying that the time has come.;)

On a more tame response, how "flexible" is the use of a knife for your profession viewed? I would think your local law enforcement in smaller villages would be more accommodating, but you could identify as an amateur sous chef, semi-professional package opener, a social media knife-tester...🤣

The problem with "laws" are the poorly written ones that give government flexibility to interpret and enough ambiguity to create fear amongst the law-abiding. Governments have a long history of targeting objects and subjecting their constituents to fearful support by demonizing tools rather than the actual criminal perpetrators. That's a sign that change is necessary in government but the "will of the people" rarely have the stomach to vote or do other things that makes them uncomfortable but necessary for change.

Here's to hoping for a much "sharper" future in France!

ROCK6
Click to expand...
Good luck...
 
Nobody has it worse with knife laws than me, since I live in China.

In cities, you can’t carry any knives in public except non-locking folders under 6 cm. Subways and trains all have security checks.

Get caught carrying a knife, and it gets confiscated, you get fined, and even 1–5 days in detention.

So I always drive, and keep all my knives in my car.

But if you live out in the countryside far from cities, it’s totally free. 🤣

IMG_8634.jpegIMG_8337.jpeg
 
YCCM_beam said:
Nobody has it worse with knife laws than me, since I live in China.

In cities, you can’t carry any knives in public except non-locking folders under 6 cm. Subways and trains all have security checks.

Get caught carrying a knife, and it gets confiscated, you get fined, and even 1–5 days in detention.

So I always drive, and keep all my knives in my car.

But if you live out in the countryside far from cities, it’s totally free. 🤣

View attachment 3150833View attachment 3150834
Click to expand...
Sound's the same as NYC really, they gotta catch me first...😜
 
Between 2003 and 2013, the NYPD made about 60,000 arrests for illegal knife carry; the vast majority of them (86%) black and Latino males. Out of the millions who reside there and even more millions who travel/commute there, it is an extremely small percentage. The average person should be more concerned about getting hit by a motor vehicle than getting arrested on some BS knife charge. Besides racial discrimination and profiling on the part of NYPD, another factor was the use of pocket clips. Those contraptions give LEOs all the probable cause they need to search and arrest. Dress well. Avoid areas known to be trouble spots. Keep EDC knife well-concealed. Enjoy life and stop worrying!
 
Louky said:
My grandfather gave me my first knife (a tiny slip-joint) when I was 7 years old.
I don't think I've ever gone a day since then without having a folding knife in my pocket.
For over 40 years, I have been carrying all kinds of folding knives without ever having caused the slightest problem: modern, traditional, SAK, Spyderco, Benchmade, Laguiole, Sebenza... J'adore les couteaux de poche !

Unfortunately, here in France, the situation for knife lovers is becoming critical.

There are many problems of aggression, especially between young people, and our leaders, unable to do anything, use the easy solution, which consists of banning knives. It won't solve any problems, of course, but it gives people the impression that they're doing something.
This summer, they classified "brass knuckles" and "zombie knives" in "category A", that is to say the same classification as full-auto firearms!!!

Fixed knives, automatic knives and butterfly knives are classified in "category D": their possession is authorized, but their carrying is prohibited (except for professionals in the exercise of their profession and for hunters in action). All other knives "can be" classified as category D, depending on the circumstances, according to the assessment of the police officer carrying out the check... in other words, it's Russian roulette...

Violation of the law carries a risk of a fine of €500 (approximately $580).
More importantly, it creates a criminal record, which prohibits you from owning a firearm and from holding certain public sector jobs.

So far, I'm resisting: I'm taking the risk of putting a Victorinox Cadet in my pocket regardless.
But I don't know what philosophy to adopt regarding this problem. We are rarely checked where I live, but if I get caught, the consequences would be enormous.

What do you think about this situation?
What would you do if carrying a knife became illegal in your country?
Click to expand...
Sadly, I don't believe the EU will stop until they have absolute power and control over the population. It seems that every fool with a seat at the table and an insane personal agenda gets to enact whatever law they desire, individual freedoms and rights be damned.
 
not2sharp said:
Good people are law abiding, criminals are not. -
and once the portion of the lawful diminishes, it will take the society down with it.
Click to expand...


This is an overly simplistic way of looking at it. Someone not abiding by a law they see as unjust doesn't necessarily make them "not good".

Also laws change, and are not necessarily moral guidelines. I mean look at every revolution that has ever taken place. The United States became the United States by not following the law. Does that make the revolutionaries "not good"? Laws are sets of standards set by particular people and power in a society and don't necessarily reflect what is moral or what is not moral. The second part of your comment is a massive over each and assumption and once again prevents anything like a revolution taking place. By your own logic the way the United States started (or any other much needed revolution) was just a breakdown of society.
 
Last edited:
It's not a stretch read into "law abiding" in this context as "those who don't violate others' rights". Good people don't violate the rights of others. Criminals do. Given that context the rest of the statement stands.
 
not2sharp said:
Good people are law abiding, criminals are not, and once the portion of the lawful diminishes, it will take the society down with it.
Click to expand...

Dagoth_Blur said:
This is an overly simplistic way of looking at it. Someone not abiding by a law they see as unjust doesn't necessarily make them "not good".

Also laws change, and are not necessarily moral guidelines. I mean look at every revolution that has ever taken place. The United States became the United States by not following the law. Does that make the revolutionaries "not good"? Laws are sets of standards set by particular people and power in a society and don't necessarily reflect what is moral or what is not moral. The second part of your comment is a massive over each and assumption and once again prevents anything like a revolution taking place. By your own logic the way the United States started (or any other much needed revolution) was just a breakdown of society.
Click to expand...

I think what N2S is saying is that criminals/bad guys/evildoers/etc. will not abide by whatever laws are on the books while good/law-abiding/well-intentioned people generally will abide by the law as best they can. Meaning, that a statute prohibiting the carry of pocketknives in public will negatively affect the "good" people because they are the only ones who will actually stop carrying knives. The "bad" guys will still carry whatever they want, wherever they want because they do not care about following the rules.

I do not think his intention was to equate lawful behavior with moral behavior.
 
oldmanwilly said:
I think what N2S is saying is that criminals/bad guys/evildoers/etc. will not abide by whatever laws are on the books while good/law-abiding/well-intentioned people generally will abide by the law as best they can. Meaning, that a statute prohibiting the carry of pocketknives in public will negatively affect the "good" people because they are the only ones who will actually stop carrying knives. The "bad" guys will still carry whatever they want, wherever they want because they do not care about following the rules.

I do not think his intention was to equate lawful behavior with moral behavior.
Click to expand...
This is a much better way of explaining, much of which I agree with. However if that is what they were trying to say...."Good people are law abiding, criminals are not" was not the way to do it.

That being said, I think the intent of those banning certain items is not just to stop people from doing xyz because it's illegal but to make said item (like the gun or knife) harder to get over time therefore reducing the amount of people committing said acts. I don't really agree with that, however in believe that's the motivation behind banning certain items, especially firearms.
 
oldmanwilly said:
I think what N2S is saying is that criminals/bad guys/evildoers/etc. will not abide by whatever laws are on the books while good/law-abiding/well-intentioned people generally will abide by the law as best they can. Meaning, that a statute prohibiting the carry of pocketknives in public will negatively affect the "good" people because they are the only ones who will actually stop carrying knives. The "bad" guys will still carry whatever they want, wherever they want because they do not care about following the rules.

I do not think his intention was to equate lawful behavior with moral behavior.
Click to expand...
What I should have elaborated is that when you try to control popular behavior by labeling something a criminal act, you redefine an otherwise lawful part of the population as criminal and criminals do not obey the law. Do this enough and your society become a failed state. In the U.S. we tried prohibition, and ended up creating a mass organized crime wave and a wide breath of the population willing to patronize these criminal enterprises. Prior to prohibition most of these people would have avoided criminal association, but the state normalized crime as an expected social behavior.

N2s
 
not2sharp said:
What I should have elaborated is that when you try to control popular behavior by labeling something a criminal act, you redefine an otherwise lawful part of the population as criminal and criminals do not obey the law. Do this enough and your society become a failed state. In the U.S. we tried prohibition, and ended up creating a mass organized crime wave and a wide breath of the population willing to patronize these criminal enterprises. Prior to prohibition most of these people would have avoided criminal association, but the state normalized crime as an expected social behavior.

N2s
Click to expand...
Kind'a the same way cannabis was and is now changing.
I'm old enough to remember people doing hard time for a couple of joints.
 
David Mary said:
It was never rational to put people in prison for having a couple joints.
Click to expand...
Nor is it rational to excuse people who commit crimes by suggesting that the lawful prosecution of specific sub-groups constitutes a form of racism.

This is what leads to the increase in crime rates and the usual reaction to limit access to the tools used since we are not allowed to directly go after the criminals.

N2s
 
Most of the rule makers are crooks themselves just on A grander scale...😡........Some term limits be nice. No 50 + years of rules for the n not me........
 
David Mary said:
It was never rational to put people in prison for having a couple joints.
Click to expand...
No more rational than NYPD arresting tradesmen and chefs for possessing the knives needed for their jobs. Unfortunately, an arrest record is permanent here in the United States. One might be able to "seal" or "expunge" a criminal record on the state level, but a copy (including fingerprints) gets forwarded to the FBI records repository in Clarksburg, West Virginia. There, it remains forever. Who knows how many people failed background checks and lost employment opportunities because of this foolishness.
 
BootKnifeFan said:
No more rational than NYPD arresting tradesmen and chefs for possessing the knives needed for their jobs. Unfortunately, an arrest record is permanent here in the United States. One might be able to "seal" or "expunge" a criminal record on the state level, but a copy (including fingerprints) gets forwarded to the FBI records repository in Clarksburg, West Virginia. There, it remains forever. Who knows how many people failed background checks and lost employment opportunities because of this foolishness.
Click to expand...
NY Shitty. Swirling the.drain right now.......Going to enjoy the view from Staten Island as it burns from Dammommi or wateva his name is..🙄
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top