Gun rights proponents have long claimed that if criminals can’t access guns, they’ll just turn to other weapons. Recently, Donald Trump cited the rise of knife attacks in the United Kingdom, and especially London, as evidence of this claim. Now, a UK judge believes he has the solution: file down knives.
Retiring Luton Crown Court Judge Nic Madge recently addressed this issue during his valedictory speech. He claimed that some groups of people are starting to regularly carry knives. He also called on the government to start regulating the sales of certain kitchen knives. His comments come after knife attacks rose by 22 percent in the UK in 2017 since the year before.
Trying to regulate kitchen knives would be a tall task. As Judge Madge noted: “The reason why these measures have little effect is that the vast majority of knives carried by youths are ordinary kitchen knives. Every kitchen contains lethal knives which are potential murder weapons.”
(Credit: Facebook/Rob Gray)
While knives certainly are deadly weapons, we also need them for everyday cooking. Can you imagine trying to cut through a tough piece of meat or some hearty vegetables with a dull knife? One has to wonder, if Judge Madge had his way, would that become a reality in the United Kingdom?
However, Judge Madge focused primarily on the end points of the knives. He specifically cited 8 to 10 inch knives with points at the end and argued that only a few professionals, such as butchers, would regularly need a knife that long with a sharp point. He urged knife manufacturers to consider modifying their designs.
The judge also argued that the police could set up a program to dull the points of long knives. It’d be like a gun buyback program, but instead, dulling knives and making them less useful for nefarious activities. It’s hard to imagine people lining up to have their knives dulled, however.
Luton Crown Court Judge Nic Madge. (Credit: Facebook/Cahfindit.com)
So what explains the rising knife attacks in the United Kingdom? No one knows for certain but police cutbacks and a reduced law enforcement presence in neighborhoods may be partially to blame. Others have noted that the murder rate seems to correlate with inequality. With knives often used to mug people, inequality and tough economic circumstances seem like a reasonable influencing factor as well.
My Take: Dull Knives Won’t Solve Problem
Would such a program work? It seems like criminals could just turn to other potentially deadly weapons, such as crowbars. I believe that if we’re going to make progress, we’re going to have to address the root social/economic/cultural issues. So long as a citizen has the motive to commit a crime, they’ll likely figure out a way to do so.
While I would support some increased gun regulations to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable and other high-risk groups, I’d also note that other countries, such as Norway, with high gun ownership rates suffer far fewer gun-linked crimes. It seems plausible that increased training requirements and more stringent vetting, as is often found in said countries, might help keep weapons out of the wrong hands.
As for criminals finding a way, that remains true. However, the perp who carried out the Las Vegas mass shooting last year would have hurt far fewer people if he were throwing kitchen knives into the crowd. To be clear, I wouldn’t want to trample on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, who make up the vast majority. However, we should at least examine policies that might keep guns out of perps’ hands.
What’s your opinion on the UK matter: Sharp or dull idea?
