Knife Control?

 At Bearing Arms today John Petrolino has an article entitled UK Knife Amnesty Cuts Up Gun Control Arguments. I have said for years that if the gun had not been invented, or if it were possible to magically get rid of all the guns, people would still kill each other. Knives, screw drivers, even rocks can be used. The problem, always,, is not the tool used, but the intent of the person. In the holster of your average concealed carrier, a gun presents absolutely no threat to anyone. But if someone wants to kill another, the tools he could use are virtually unlimited.

This is where we are in the world today. Knife trade-in boxes and police departments celebrating a box of items that are fit for an American flea market table. They did their best to get rid of the guns in England (which they failed at mind you) and have moved onto kitchen knives. Looking at the picture I don’t see any prominently displayed switch-blades, dirks, daggers, or narwhal tusks. There seems to be a nice set of utility shears, a few old bayonets, and one lonely pizza cutter among the chef knives. Burnley and Padiham Police department, we thank you for taking these wicked kitchen gadgets off the streets! Clink a couple of pints of draught at the pub, you deserve it. Tally-ho!

Maybe it's time for a little humility? The government can not keep you safe. Your safety is up to you. It is your responsibility to protect yourself and your loved ones. If the politians would admit that they can not protect you, that they can only investigate the crime, prosecute the perpetrator, and execute punishment, that would be a good first step. This is, by the way, an important job. But the anti-gun crowd should not promise to do a job they can not do, for no one can.

The gun has made it possible for the weaker to defend against the stronger, the older to defend against the younger, and one to defend against the mob. It is more civilized than anything that came before, but everything that came before still exists. And the people who want to kill others will use whatever comes to hand.  Meanwhile, in England, they have knife control.