Stop The Madness-Lock Up The Knives
August 1st, 2008 at 07:50pm Mitch Mulhall 171
Knives have made a lot of news lately.
In Brazil, Mohammed Dali Carvalho dos Santos stabbed his girlfriend Care Marie Burke to death and dismembered her body. Police found him out because he accidently left her torso on a river bank—inside his suitcase.
In Dubai, award-winning singer Suzan Tamin was found dead, a victim of multiple stab wounds, in her Dh2.8 million apartment.
In Canada, Vince Weiguang Li of Edmonton stabbed 22-year-old Tim McLean to death on a Greyhound Bus. Vince also dismembered the victim’s body with a knife.
In London, just last night a woman was stabbed in the streets of Battersea. She was taken to a hospital at 9:20 pm, where she perished.
Death by stabbing is all too common. If only it were it possible to limit knife ownership, we could curb this unnecessary form of violence.
Although I would personally like to see as many civilian-owned knives eliminated from mainstream society as possible, I realize that this is not a politically realistic goal. Thus, I present my own, seven-point plan for knife control. If adopted, this plan can help put an end to knife violence once and for all.
1. A national system for registering knives. This system must be national. Any state-by-state implementation will surely result in inconsistent statutes that would make it possible, for example, to obtain butcher knives, or even machetes, in states with less restrictive laws. A national system is a must.
2. Instant background checks on people attempting to buy knives or wet stones. Felons and ex-cons should not have access to knives, and many misdemeanors and juvenile crimes should also count against knife ownership. Additionally, sushi chefs, butchers, meat-packing plant employees, and recreational fishermen should be licensed and required to lock-up their cutlery when not in use.
3. Stiffer sentences for knife crimes. It almost goes without saying.
4. Concealed-carry permits for pocket knives. Pocket knife ownership should be discouraged, but where this is not possible, pocket knives of any size with blades that are sharper than kindergarten scissors should require a concealed carry permit.
5. Knife education. Many knives are involved in accidents that could easily have been prevented with just a little care or forethought. Knife purchasers should be required to take lessons in knife safety, at their own expense. Alton Brown and Emeril Legasse could branch out, offering intense crash-courses in knife safety, in real-kitchen situations.
6. General education. Study after study has concluded that there is a direct correlation between lack of education and violent crime. Every dollar spent on education now will prevent countless dollars worth of crime damage in the future. Think of all the private and public funds used to pay for knife violence—hospital bills, funerals, insurance bills, say nothing of the actual cost of buying knives. Invest that money in education and watch the crime rate drop.
7. Hand grip ID tagging. This is technologically probably still in the future, but it would be a good goal to work for. The theory is, each knife is "registered" to its owner’s palm prints, and only that person can unsheathe the blade. If another person tries, the knife will simply not come out. Thus, stolen knives become useless and cannot harm anybody in the course of a crime.
My seven-point plan is certainly not foolproof, but I firmly believe that as a basis for future policy, these steps and others can stem the world-wide scourge of madness that is knife violence. Just think, had previous generations been courageous enough to embrace this thinking, Sharon Tate's child would be on the verge of turning 39.
Cheers,
12 Comments Add your own
1. reckless G | August 2nd, 2008 at 7:31 am
Mitch! This is friggin' funny! One of your best posts yet. Thanks for the laugh.
2. Kit O'Carra | August 2nd, 2008 at 8:17 am
I look forward to the night when I can get a full night's rest and sleep without waking before the sun comes up, just knowing that I am living in a much safer world without knives.
Rest assured that TSA is doing their part to end this madness. On a recent check-in procedure I was being scanned through all of the detectors, unknowingly carrying a one-inch promotional Swiss knife that had been hidden in the crevices for years of the purse I had chosen to take on the trip with me. After three passes through the xray and a thorough hand search by one of TSA's best, the inch long weapon was confiscated and I was grateful that I had not been taken into custody. I was let off with a warning and shamed for trying to appear as a solid citizen in good standing with our nation.
3. reckless G | August 2nd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Kit,
I had a similar experience at the Glenwood Springs County Courthouse. I keep a multi-tool in a purse pocket. When my purse was x-rayed and the offending implement was found, I had to make a special trip back to my car or risk losing my precious tool.
It was a situation that tested my Taoist practice of acceptance. In fact I recall making a very un-Taolike comment to the guards.
I learned my lesson though, now I leave all of my knives in the car when I visit the courthouse...as should a solid citizen in good standing with our nation.
4. Mitch Mulhall | August 2nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I carry my laptop in a backpack. I also carry a large, home-made hunting knife in my pack.
I recently traveled to NYC for a meeting with a major financial company. Rather than checking a bag, I packed everything in my back pack. It wasn't until I was pulling my pack out of the cab of my truck that I noticed the end of my knife's braided leather wrist strap hanging from the side pocket. I pulled the knife out of the pack and slid it under the driver's seat, pleased to have avoided what would have been an interesting experience with the TSA officials at Sardy Field...
Cheers,
5. Mitch Mulhall | August 2nd, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Hmmm. I've got to think that on the OR coast, Kit's gott'a be looking at a lot of this:
Cheers,
6. Kit O'Carra | August 4th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Absolutely right! Back in Woody Creek I knew that if I washed my car, it would rain the next day. Out here if I wash it, the word gets out to the gulls and my car becomes a victim of random acts of fly-by fwopping. Not just little sparrow-size fwops either. These are fwops large enough to make you think twice about walking around without a hardhat and the sun bakes the fwop onto the paint.
But back to the topic of your blog, Mitch. My sadness runs deep knowing that the Samurai Deli will soon be shut down by the government.
7. Mitch Mulhall | August 4th, 2008 at 8:14 am
I'm to blame for this foray into the ornithologically excremental... but since we're there, earlier last spring, the GSPI took a picture of several pelicans resting on a lake near New Castle, as I recall. While there's no way of knowing from whence it came, whether eagle, blue herron, or perhaps visiting Pelican, the bird that nailed my wife's car was no constipated sparrow. It was like a highway striping truck had flown over and turned on the white and yellow paint at the same time. The stripe started at the edge of my driveway, over my wife's car, and into the neighbor's front yard. Whatever it was, I'm quite certain that bird gained considerable altitude.
Bummer about Samurai...
Cheers,
8. Wharf Rat | August 5th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Mitch,
That is brilliant! Glad I didn't miss it. Just remember, knives don't kill people...neocons kill people.
9. Mitch Mulhall | August 5th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Rat,
Two comments in one evening. How uncharacteristic of you.
[Just remember, knives don't kill people...neocons kill people.]
That's what G and the Con Man keep telling me. G would have me add Zionists to the soup. Anyway, I'm pleased you enjoyed the read.
Cheers,
10. reckless G | August 6th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Neocons, Zionists; same smell
11. Mitch Mulhall | June 29th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
And you thought it couldn't happen? Check out this article from CQ:
12. infowars.com | July 7th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
its all for our safety Mitch....all for our safety
the war on terrorism was never meant to be against those from foreign land who would hurt us, its for US, you and me.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/shreveport-c....r-stickers.html
Shreveport Citizens Disarmed By Police For 2nd Amendment Bumper Stickers
Argue With Everyone
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Welcome to Shreveport: Your rights are now suspended.According to Cedric Glover, mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, his cops “have a power that [. . .] the President of these Unites States does not have”: His cops can take away your rights.
And would you like to guess which rights he has in mind?
Just ask Shreveport resident Robert Baillio, who got pulled over for having two pro-gun bumper stickers on the back of his truck — and had his gun confiscated.
While the officer who pulled him over says Baillio failed to use his turn signal, the only questions he had for Baillio concerned guns: Whether he had a gun, where the gun was, and if he was a member of the NRA. No requests for a driver’s licence, proof of insurance, or vehicle registration — and no discussion of a turn signal.
Accordingly, Baillio told the officer the truth, which led the police officer to search his car without permission and confiscate his gun.However, not only does Louisiana law allow resident to drive with loaded weapons in their vehicles, but Mr. Baillio possessed a concealed carry license!
What does such behavior demonstrate, other than transparent political profiling — going so far as to use the infamous Department of Homeland Security report on “Americans of a rightwing persuasion” as a how-to guidebook, no less?
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
Shreveport Citizens Disarmed By Police For 2nd Amendment Bumper Stickers 250509BANNER
Mr. Baillio made no secret of his political affiliations: An American flag centers a wide flourish of pro-freedom stickers and decals on his back windshield.
In fact, when Baillio asked the officer if everyone he pulls over gets the same treatment, the officer said no and pointed to the back of his truck.
Baillio phoned Mayor Glover to complain about this “suspension of rights” only to find that his city’s morbidly obese “commander in chief” was elated at the story: According to Glover, Baillio got “served well, protected well, and even got a consideration that maybe [he] should not have gotten.”
Thankfully, Mr. Baillio recorded a good bit of that phone call. You can watch a video with the transcriptions here. I’ve reproduced a chunk of the call below:
Baillio: (in the context of being asked about the presence of a gun) Well, I answered that question honestly, and he disarmed me.
Glover: Which would be an appropriate and proper action, sir. The fact that you gave the correct answer — it simply means that you did what it is you were supposed to have done, and that is to give that weapon to the police officer so he could appropriately place it in a place where it would not be a threat to you, to him, or to anyone in the general public.
[. . .]
Glover: My direction to you is that, had you chosen not to properly identify the fact that you had a weapon and directed that officer to where that weapon was located; had you been taken from the vehicle, and the officer, in the interest of his safety, chose to secure you in a safe position, and then looked, found, and determined that you did, in fact, have a weapon…then, sir, you would have faced additional, [inaudible], and more severe criminal sanctions.
Baillio: So what you’re saying is: I give up all my rights to keep and bear arms if I’m stopped by the police: Is that correct?
Glover: Sir, you have no right, when you have been pulled over by a police officer for a potential criminal offense [which would be what?! - DB] to stand there with your weapon at your side in your hand [Baillio's weapon was nowhere near his side or his hand, and Glover knew that. -- DB] because of your second amendment rights, sir. That does not mean at that point your second amendment right has been taken away; it means at that particular point in time, it has been suspended.
——————————————————————————————-
Will Grigg from ProLibertate, an excellent freedom blog, has this to say:
According to Glover, a police officer may properly disarm any civilian at any time, and the civilian’s duty is to surrender his gun — willingly, readily, cheerfully, without cavil or question.
From Glover’s perspective, it is only when firearms are in the hands of people other than the state’s uniformed enforcers/oppressors that they constitute a threat, not only to the public and those in charge of exercising official violence but also to the private gun owner himself.
NAGR spoke with Mr. Baillio, and he told us that he’s in the process of securing the official procedures and codes for firearm handling and private property confiscation for the Shreveport police department.
So far, the city has been half-heartedly cooperating with him.
“I felt sick,” Baillio told NAGR. “My uncles didn’t die for this country so I could surrender my rights like a wimp. I felt terrible. I was just thinking of all that my family has done for freedom in this nation — including dying — and here they are disarming me at a traffic stop.”
What to do?
1. Read Luke’s commentary here, and participate in the discussion by leaving a comment.
2. Send this around. This kind of behavior cannot go unchecked.
3. Call Mayor Glover’s office to complain: (318) 673-5050.
I’ll leave you with one last consideration. As a licensed firearms instructor in charge of a hundred different students every month, I’m often asked if citizens should voluntarily inform police officers of the presence of a firearm during a routine traffic stop.
While different states have different laws, my answer for Colorado citizens is an emphatic “No”: Colorado law doesn’t require you to volunteer that kind of information, and this case in Louisiana proves why, if at all possible, you should never invite trouble by doing so.
In liberty,
signature
Dudley Brown
Executive Director
National Association for Gun Rights
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