U.K. Sword Ban

The government is talking about outlawing swords in the UK, a move that will greatly affect Martial Artists, collectors, and swordsmiths, as well as cultural pastimes such as LARPing (if you can call that a cultural pastime) and Scottish Sword Dancing. Sign the petition! http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/swords/

 

Think I already have, but I'll go and look, and sign if I haven't.

 

bloody stupid idea trying to ban swords, ive already signed the petition, i mean how many times in the past 100 years has someone been mugged with a sword, compare that too the amount of people who have been mugged with kitchen knives,hammers and stanley blades, its ridiculus, its almost as dumb as the sword amnesty where nerdy fools were handing in those klingon swords and shoddy cheap katana's and the news heralded it as a move forward in cutting knife crime. grrrr the stupidity.

this ban wont happen, at least i hope not, dont goverments have better things to work on really?!.

 

fact is the general public will almost certainly be in favour of such a ban, because it gives the illusion that the government are working hard. Nothing a tiny minority of Martial artists say is going to make a blind bit of difference in the long run.

 

But I need Big Brother to protect me from the mean ol' wolf... :bang: :bang:

I pray America doesn't go the route the UK is going. Gun Control in the US is unconstitutional as is already...

Sry guys, I'd sign but im a yank...

 

[Sarcasm]No I think its a good idea. I mean the amount of wandering sword mercenaries I see down my street this day is appalling.[/sarcasm]

So if this goes through when is the march on the houses of parliament

 

call me paranoid but that petition is going to be like a ready made list of sword owners for the authorities lol!
in all serirousness though im signing it, as this is plainly the same nonsense knee-jerk,headline grabing crap that we have to put up with from time time here

 

Unfortunately I agree. I've signed the petition and at least some of my students have done so because they told me (the others probably have too).

The ban will probably happen despite the fact that it won't make a blind bit of difference in reality. It's all about appearing to do something, right? I mean we're on to a loser straight away because what right-thinking individual would want criminals to have access to weapons? At least, that's the argument that always gets trotted out. :bang:

What they should do is simply impose proper restrictions on the sale of these things over the counter, perhaps only to people with a proper licence. In Japan you can only own a shinken with a licence, much like here in the UK you can only have a shotgun if you have a licence.

But who cares about the innocent in politics? :cry:

And I'm willing to bet money that there are a few *ahem* arrests for crimes involving swords being reported in the papers in the lead up to the ban, just to give public support the right push. :bang:

 

people do use swords in crimes though, its not the government fault that people are morons. If they ban swords a few hundred Martial artists will moan, if they dont a few million voters will moan. Its the easiest political decision in history.

 

Do you really think that a petition can stop a ban in the Uk in the 21st century, as the last poster said, it is more likely to give a list to thr "appropiate" authorities.
If the goverment decide that banning swords is the "right" way to go then goodbye swords, There will be loopholes but on the whole a lot of scrap metal.

 

an outright ban is unlikely, I think strict licensing and controls is the way forward.

 

There is no real motive for the sword ban other than public appearance, the ban and the resources to enforce the ban will drain yet more money,make yet more criminals and do absolutley no good.

About all you hear of swords is about every year or two,some nutter goes and waves a sword around and gets tazered/rubber bulleted and in extreme and verry verry rare ocasions shot.

Crimes like that make such a small percent of all stabbings that the cons serverly outweioght the pro's, and how on earth and they going to be able to find a way to make people hand in their swords, how will they know who has them?its stupid and a watse of public money.

License all you want, thats fine and probably the appropraite thing too do, but a sword ban will do no good and put a fair few people out of business.

 

Signed

 

Dunblane almost single handedly got handguns banned, proof that it only takes one nutter to instigate huge changes.

 

It comes down to the same old politically correct idea. Don’t blame the criminal, blame the object he used as it not really the poor guy but the weapon used he would not have done anything if that evil sword, gun or fork had not been there. This is now extending to crimes that might happen. Not that I would tell another country what laws they should or should not make but I do feel for those that this will affect. Watch out as soon as the metal swords are gone the wooden ones will be next. Fight the good fight anyway and try to beat it.

 

It'll be all metal weapons followed by all wooden one's next. Easier and cheaper to ban them than to contol them.

 

yeah perhaps there will be a bokken law, the mass bokken burning, the great bokken fire of 2007,the bokken amnesty... i mean, its probably easier to kill someone with a bokken than most of the cheap ass swords that will be rounded up by this ban,which i bet will be 90% blunt wall hanger rubbish,swords that will not have or never will have any impact on the supposed 'knife culture'.

 

Anyone want to buy 8 swords ranging from japanese steel to an original 7th caverlry sword, 2 sets of sais, and a multitude of wooden weapons?

Get them cheap while you still can!

 

This is why I'm glad to be an American... I mean seriously... Does it not bother you resident British folk that your government thinks of you all as inept and not mentally able to weild anything besides a vegetable peeler(and even that's arguable) without a permit or license?

I mean my christ.. the government is trying to completely strip you of the basic human right to protect ones self... Its like you're living in the prequel to V for Vendetta....

 

The thing that amuses me is that they make weapons illegal, so law abiding citizens won't carry them. But surely criminals by their very nature aren't law abiding - thats why they are criminals. So basically people who respect the law go around unarmed, and criminals who don't abide the law walk around armed. Bloody genius if you ask me.