Knife Ban..

[Gravitymaster 0]

This would have seemed kind of funny a few years ago. First it was guns, now it's knives. Coming soon to a Govt. near you. When will we begin to address the real problems?


http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=579102005

Doctors seek kitchen knife ban

EDWARD BLACK


Key points
• Doctors claim long kitchen knives serve no purpose except as weapons
• 55 out of 108 homicide victims in Scotland were stabbed last year
• Police superintendents say a ban would be difficult to enforce

Key quote
"Many assaults are impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or misuse of other drugs, and the long pointed kitchen knife is an easily available, potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the domestic setting" - Dr Emma Hern, writing in British Medical Journal

Story in full LONG, pointed kitchen knives should be banned as part of a concerted effort to reduce the terrible injuries and deaths caused by stabbing attacks, doctors warned today.

Accident and emergency medics claim the knives serve no useful purpose in the kitchen but are proving deadly on the streets of Britain, with the doctors claiming the knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings.

The doctors claimed they had consulted leading chefs who said the knives were not needed for cooking - a claim disputed by chefs contacted by The Scotsman.

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.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, specialist registrar Dr Emma Hern and emergency medicine consultant Dr Mike Beckett said a short pointed knife may cause a substantial superficial wound if used in an assault, but is unlikely to penetrate to inner organs. However, a pointed long blade pierces the body like "cutting into a ripe melon".

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.

Dr Hern said: "Many assaults are impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or misuse of other drugs, and the long pointed kitchen knife is an easily available, potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the domestic setting. Government action to ban the sale of such knives would drastically reduce their availability over the course of a few years."

Scotland's most respected pathologist, Professor Anthony Busuttil, said: "All the statistics show that for the last 15 years, victims of stabbings, whether fatal or seriously injured, are caused by kitchen knives such as steak knives rather than knives bought specially for the purpose."

Restaurateurs and chefs reacted angrily to suggestions of banning kitchen knives. Malcolm Duck, chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association, said: "Kitchen knives are designed for a purpose. It would be like asking a surgeon to perform an operation with a bread knife instead of a scalpel. Anything in the house like a cricket bat could be used as weapon in the hands of an idiot."

Chief Superintendent Tom Buchan, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, said although a ban on sharp, pointed kitchen knives would be welcome, it could be difficult to enforce.

[Zenister 0]

and some people like to deny the slippery slope exists at all....

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[mr2mk1g 10]

entirely unworkable. besides - you do realise this is just a couple of doctors writing in a medical journal...

[Ron 10]

Quote

When will we begin to address the real problems?

Never....Even after we all have to use plastic "sporks" and can only eat soft foods there will still be people trying to ban the tools, not punish the criminals.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[rushmc 23]

Liberalism at work

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[EricTheRed 0]

WTF?

I suppose after the knives are all gone they will have to ban cricket bats next...

What idiots.

Edited to add.

From CNN's article.

Quote

Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has announced plans to make knives harder to buy and to raise the minimum age for ownership from 16 to 18

Is it really illegal currently for a 15 year old to own a knife in the UK? That's just weird.

illegible usually

[markd_nscr986 0]

I will only relinquish my Spyderco when they pry my cold,dead fingers from it!

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[AggieDave 6]

Quote

Is it really illegal currently for a 15 year old to own a knife in the UK? That's just weird.

That sucks, my dad gave me a folding Buck Knife for my 8th birthday. I used the hell out of that poor little knife before it finally was worn down from sharpening and just flat wore out. I spent a shitload of time in the woods until I was about 18 too, though, so knives were more then handy.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[mr2mk1g 10]

Quote

Is it really illegal currently for a 15 year old to own a knife in the UK?

IIRC No. It's illegal to sell a knife over 3" to someone under 16... the idea being that if a kid wants/requires a knife their parents ought to be the person to give them it and thus ensure there's a degree of control over them rather than just letting young Johnny run out and buy a 10" bowie with his pocket money.

But no - mere possession its self is not prohibited. I'm not sure why such a rule would cause many objections... ?

Would have to look it up to be 100% though...

(edit - after looking it up the above is correct save for the fact that the blade does not have to exceed 3" and the law also covers axes and sharp pointed implaments made for the purpose of causing injury.)

[SpeedRacer 1]

Quote

Liberalism at work

I think you need to look up "liberalism". This is actually liberalism denied.

Speed Racer
--------------------------------------------------

[crwtom 0]

Quote

entirely unworkable. .

As far as I understand there was -technically- a ban on long knives
(and other such potential weapons) in West Berlin until 1990. This
was a rule imposed by allied occupational powers in 1945, and
since, technically, Berlin remained occupational zone until the 1990
reunification that ban also stayed in place. Of course, most people
didn't know about this, and certainly didn't observe or enforce it.

On the gun side, Germany has pretty restrictive laws that are
rarely questioned. (mostly as a result of RAF terror aera in the 70's
and 80's, but also a reaction to its own violent earlier history).

Related or unrelated to this, firearm homicides per capita are
17 to 30 times higher in the US than in Germany.
(one # from a pro-gun site, other from a pro-regulation site)

Cheers, T

*******************************************************************
Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

[rushmc 23]

Quote

Quote

Liberalism at work

I think you need to look up "liberalism". This is actually liberalism denied.

Hmmm, todays "liberal" knows what is best for everyone, thinks government needs to implement what they think is right, (uuhhh correct) into action, and if you don't agree with them you are un-educated and extreme

Does that get it?

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Quote

Liberalism at work

I think you need to look up "liberalism". This is actually liberalism denied.

He's operating under the cynical contempoary definition. As you well know.

But it should have been "liberals" at work, not liberalism at work. And there is little relation between the extreme liberals of the US to liberalism in general. Just like there is little conservatism involved with the extreme conservatives of today.

I use "extreme" on purpose - they seem to define for people in one party what they think the other party is all about. Most of the rest of us could eliminate the labels - there's hardly much substantive differences. Most is trendy fluff or just self gratification and hypocritical judgementalism.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Frenchy68 0]

Well, sometimes good things come out of stupid bans. Since airlines have banned metal knifes and replaced them with plastic ones, I am actually able to cut through my food. And they can be broken into nifty little pointy thingies that can be used as... toothpicks! That way, I get the feeling of being safe AND I have a properly functiuning cutting and puncturing utensil. Life is good.

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[craddock 0]

Quote

Related or unrelated to this, firearm homicides per capita are
17 to 30 times higher in the US than in Germany.

Related or unrelated to what? Kitchen knives? I would say quite unrelated.

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Quote

Related or unrelated to this, firearm homicides per capita are
17 to 30 times higher in the US than in Germany.

Related or unrelated to what? Kitchen knives? I would say quite unrelated.

Nope, if you haven't any clean knives, you can just shoot your steak into little pieces. It's a very direct relationship. R-squ = 90%.

On an unrelated note, did you know that households the shoot their food into chewable sized pieces (known as non-traditional food preparation) have a completely unrelated statistic of high budget allocation for new dishes?

Home economics is fascinating.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Gravitymaster 0]

Quote

Well, sometimes good things come out of stupid bans. Since airlines have banned metal knifes and replaced them with plastic ones, I am actually able to cut through my food. And they can be broken into nifty little pointy thingies that can be used as... toothpicks! That way, I get the feeling of being safe AND I have a properly functiuning cutting and puncturing utensil. Life is good.

You are very easy to please aren't you?

[Gravitymaster 0]

They can take away my knives, but they aren't getting my slingshot.

[Frenchy68 0]

Quote

You are very easy to please aren't you?

Yes!Now, if I could only retrieve my nail clipper from United, I'd be happier!

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[airtwardo 7]

Related or unrelated to this, firearm homicides per capita are
17 to 30 times higher in the US than in Germany.

***

May 8th 1945....Germany admits the U.S. shoots better than they do!

~We're just more accurate...hence the higher statistics~

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[SkyAnt 0]

Somebody should kill that doctor.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke (1729-1797)