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by samatman 1594 days ago
I must say, as an adult in the habit of carrying a lockback folding knife whenever I leave the house, a practice I ultimately owe to Lord Baden-Powell, I found it.. discomfiting that this benign practice is illegal in London. Lovely city in general, one of my very favourites, but there's something grim about that.

"Be Prepared" was considered a perfectly valid reason at one time. Still is in hmm. Many places.
1 comments
thomasguide 1594 days ago
Not disagreeing with you per se, but what is benign in some contexts might not be so benign in others. Knife crime is a big problem in London - the tight regulation is in response to these circumstances. For instance, of the 126 homicides committed in London in 2020, 71 were committed with knives.[1]

[1] https://www.onlondon.co.uk/the-number-of-homicides-in-london...

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samatman 1594 days ago
It seems plausible to me that the crime we want to deter (shoving a sharpened piece of steel into someone) isn't easily or effectively prevented by adding carrying such a piece of steel to the list of crimes.

They're in every kitchen, how are we to prevent them from being carried out of the nearest one? Ask yourself!

The list of good reasons to carry a pocketknife which are aren't shanking someone is unenumerable and lengthy. It's an absurdity and I despair when I have to see Brits pretend to the logic of it out of some misplaced solidarity. Kudos for the NHS but the knife loisense fills me with pity for what a once mighty nation has become.

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thomasguide 1594 days ago
The target of these laws is not kitchen knives. Pocketknives (manual blade, less than 3") of most kinds are legal.[1, see exceptions] Bans of this kind are fairly common (for instance, in California, there is a ban on concealed carry of fixed-blade knives; in Los Angeles, the ban extends to openly carrying a "knife or dagger" defined as "any knife having a blade of three inches or more in length".[2] These laws strike me as very reasonable.

[1]https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives [2]https://www.losangelescriminallawyers.com/los-angeles-knife-...

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renewiltord 1594 days ago
It’s a bit funny to imagine but the NYC knife murder rate is actually higher than London. Against the background of substantially greater crime, though, it fades away.

It’s just a difference in culture. Despite the stabbings, Americans will not tolerate knife control to the same degree.

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