Not a joke: Britain implementing common sense knife control, limiting acid sales

“Common sense knife control.” Usually, if you hear that phrase, it’s a facetious remark designed to take the air out of the gun control debate. We all know that gun control laws will be ignored by criminals and, even if it gets harder for them to get a gun, there will still be millions of other weapons out there. Take away the guns and eventually you’ll need to take away the knives, cars, baseball bats, etc. Well, welcome to London. There, the murder rate is skyrocketing thanks to rampant stabbings. According to the London times “knife crime” is so widespread that the murder rate has surpassed that of New York for the first time in modern history.

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As you know, the Brits already have strict gun control, so what can they do to stop all the stabbings? That’s right. Knife control is no longer a joke. Brace yourself for a ban on military-style assault cutlery. From the Independent:

Anyone buying a knife online will be banned from having it sent to a residential address, under a government crackdown following a surge in street stabbings. New legislation, to be brought forward within weeks, will also make it illegal to possess zombie knives and knuckledusters in private – or any knife on further education premises. Rapid firing rifles will be banned and the legal definition for threatening someone with an offensive weapon changed to make prosecutions easier. The measures – which also include a ban on acid sales to under-18s – will all be included in a new “serious violence strategy”, to be launched by the home secretary, Amber Rudd, on Monday.

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London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been all over Twitter decrying “knife crime” and people who “carry a knife.” As he puts it, there is never a reason to carry a knife – even if you’re carrying it to protect yourself from murderous criminals.

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

Too many young Londoners are being senselessly lost to knife crime. Share our film and help carry a different message #LondonNeedsYouAlive #LNYA pic.twitter.com/uApDYWryu5

— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) April 8, 2018

We’re not sure who might be stabbing people, or why – exactly – acid is suddenly an issue. Obviously, there must be a sensible explanation. Things like this never used to happen in Londonistan. We haven’t seen it yet, but we’re sure that someone, somewhere, is getting ready to tell us how this is Trump’s fault. In the meantime, remember. If you’re going on a picnic, and you want to purchase a pack of plastic knives in London, you’ll probably want to bring some ID.

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