In lieu of the Parkland shooting, the United States has not been the only country concerned with public safety regarding guns and other weapons. London has been taking drastic measures toward keeping its citizens safe. The underlying message is, where’s the line drawn in the sand? At what point will the monarchy be satisfied with the quota of weapons that they confiscate? In the United States we are already having a tough time letting go of our guns because of our tight grasp on the second amendment, and now London’s passing up their knives?
No excuses: there is never a reason to carry a knife. Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law. https://t.co/XILUvIFLOW
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) April 8, 2018
London has moved beyond gun control and is now commencing knife control.
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Possession of handguns was made illegal in the UK around 1925. A school massacre in Dunblane led to serious measures taken, despite higher statistics in the US where limited measures were implemented. It took a slap to the face like MSD high school for any remote legislative action to be taken. Dunblane was the United Kingdom’s first and only school shooting.
London’s previous system of random racially biased searches led to an increase in crime, as New York phased out this type of crime prevention practice. London’s Metropolitan Police department is trying out a new safety measure and went on a weapon sweep recently. A few of the items included were: scissors, pliers, screwdrivers, files, knives, etc.
Based on those items alone it sounds like the government is after the handyman’s toolbox. The prerogative to limit access to weapons sends very mixed messages to the people of London; are they actively trying to limit crime? Or is this outsourcing handyman work to another area for cheaper labor? Tools like pliers and screwdrivers are commonly used tools by auto repair shops, HVAC technicians, and scissors are found in every house that has a child in school doing projects.
What does this say about the government?
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Guns are heavily restricted in the United Kingdom, and yet at the beginning of this year, they’ve seen over 50 homicides. Since guns aren’t the issue, the next logical target was knives. Knife control is a reality for London residents. The city has since started a project called the, “Save A Life – Surrender Your Knife” program to collect knives before police must take them.
The message behind this program is good, however, a lot of people carry knives for day to day protection and use. General James A. Mattis, the US Secretary of Defense has a famous war quote that goes, “Always carry a knife with you. Just in case there’s cheesecake, or you need to stab someone in the throat.” Although some of this quote is sarcastic, the meaning is pushed that knives can be used for protective purposes.
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Gun control has made England the most violent country in Europe. The final stage of their gun ban was implemented in 1997 following the enactment of the Firearms Act which promised to reduce crime when it, in fact, had the opposite effect. In 1937, the possession of replica guns and real ones was equivocally punishable.
These measures are odd, but there is a more disturbing issue at hand: what’s next? The Babylon Bee released a news story with the headline, “Toddler Brandishing Play-Doh Pocketknife Apprehended By UK Police.” The sad part is, without the Babylon Bee being notorious for satirical news for adults, we would probably believe that this story was true. The more disturbing notion is, could this potentially become true with the next wave of public safety rules in the UK?
