Paz on 28/2/2006 at 15:12
Quote Posted by Headphones
Mirror Mirror on the wall
I deliberately chose a five year period, partly because the Tony Martin clusterfuck was six years ago.
I'm quite the bastard!
Phydeaux on 28/2/2006 at 15:22
Quote Posted by Naartjie
Nobody's going to prosecute you for carrying a knife in your tackle box, but I can guarantee that 95% of the population doesn't see the point in carrying a butterfly knife about your person when you're walking about town.
Obviously there's a cultural difference here (not that balisongs don't have the same stigma here, even in AZ where they're legal). But there's nothing about a balisong that makes it more dangerous than any other knife. I have both a Benchmade 31 (balisong) and a Benchmade 705 (regular folding, locking knife). Both have 3" blades with similar bredth. Is the balisong more dangerous simply because it looks flashy? Is a balisong with a 3" blade more dangerous than a 6" fillet knife? C'mon, this ain't rocket surgery here.
Quote:
You've also contradicted yourself:
Nooooo, I'm talking about the simple right to carry a pocket knife. Maybe "right" isn't the best word here, how about the "freedom" or "permission" to carry a pocket knife.
What these laws are doing is assigning criminality to an object that 99.9% (or so) of the time isn't (or wouldn't be, if the laws weren't already there) being used criminally. Thus, the knife itself becomes criminal intent. By these laws, a person with zero criminal intent becomes a criminal by putting a certain knife into his pocket. Surely you can see the illogic in that.
The prevailing argument from the other side goes something like "but an ordinary person shouldn't/doesn't need a knife, so anybody who has one must be a criminal", which is simply not true. Some people (like myself) find them extremely useful. Think about this the next time you have to take the plastic wrap off the next CD or DVD you buy. It must be another cultural difference (although I still catch plenty of "weapon" shit here) that has so many UKers so scared of knives, rather than the
people who carry them, that they feel the need to ban everything. Which of course only perpetuates and furthers their own fears. And my friends get dragged down in the furor.
Headphones on 28/2/2006 at 15:27
Most people live in cities and towns here bro, I don't quite understand what you think we could be using knives for?
I'm all for it if you live in the woods like, but it seems odd otherwise.
I open my DVDs at home, so if I was having that much trouble with the cellophane, I'd get a knife from the kitchen innit. Having said that, I have never had trouble with cellophane.
edit - actually i'd use my keys
Phydeaux on 28/2/2006 at 15:59
Quote Posted by Paz
Any cases of this you can cite from the last five years?
Crime is pretty kerrrazy here, right - so there should be hundreds.
I was thinking of Tony Farmer, but I'm getting my cases mixed up. The baseball bat thing was in California. I can't find the story (I'll look tomarrow), but a guy konked an intruder in his home with a bat, and the defender was arrested for assault and battery.
Agent Monkeysee on 28/2/2006 at 16:23
Quote Posted by Headphones
Most people live in cities and towns here bro, I don't quite understand what you think we could be using knives for?
I hear this from UKers all the time. Do you guys not use cardboard boxes over there? Or plastic ties? I'm a goddamn computer programmer and I still run into uses for carrying a pocket knife on a regular basis. Or do you guys all carry around scissors?
Myoldnamebroke on 28/2/2006 at 16:30
I've never been in a situation when I've needed a cutting instrument of some sort and not had easy access to one, without carrying one in my pocket.
We're talking about carrying knives out in the streets, aren't we? I don't do much unwrapping or cutting plastic ties when I'm not inside.
Paz on 28/2/2006 at 16:31
Quote Posted by Phydeaux
I was thinking of Tony Farmer, but I'm getting my cases mixed up. The baseball bat thing was in California.
So you're saying your UK tally is 0.
davpod on 28/2/2006 at 16:32
So you don't have scissors lying around in your offices?
edit: beaten twice :(
Headphones on 28/2/2006 at 16:35
Yeah, we use knives for food in the UK but we don't carry them around all day in our pockets waiting to eat!
