London’s Gun Control Laws Didn’t Work, So Mayor Moves to Knives

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Londoners yesterday, “There is never a reason to carry a knife.” Well, sure there is, if you can’t carry a gun.

During February and March, the murder rate in London exceeded that of New York City. And because the U.K. has such tight restrictions on firearm ownership, most of the 50 homicides the city has recorded year-to-date have been stabbings.

Khan sent out a tweet (below) that said, “No excuses. There is never a reason to carry a knife. Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law.”

Mayor of London✔@MayorofLondon

No excuses: there is never a reason to carry a knife. Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law. http://www.london.gov.uk/tackling-violent-crime …

5:02 AM – Apr 8, 2018

Here’s what the Mayor is doing to tackle violent crime 

City Hall and the Met Police are taking action to tackle the scourge of violent crime in London.

london.gov.uk

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Firearm ownership laws in the UK are some of the toughest in the world. The government tries to make it as difficult as possible for citizens to obtain gun licenses. If a nation bans firearms or makes the process so rigorous that it’s impossible for citizens to obtain a license, substitutes will be found.

Some examples:

Two men broke into the southeast London home of a 78-year-old London pensioner and his disabled wife last Tuesday. One of the men, armed with a screwdriver, forced the homeowner, Richard Osborne-Brooks, into the kitchen, where a struggled ensued. Osborne-Brooks managed to grab the screwdriver and stabbed his assailant to death. The second intruder fled the scene before police arrived. Unbelievably, Osborne-Brooks was arrested for suspicion of murder, though charges were subsequently dropped.

Several neighbors questioned at the scene said the area had become increasingly dangerous. Muggings at knifepoint were occurring more and more frequently.

Police are worried about the safety of Osborne-Brooks and his wife because the intruder, whom he stabbed, was a career criminal who came from a family of career criminals. They fear there may be reprisal attacks. Men were seen unloading boards from a van to be used to secure the home against attacks.

Similarly, last June, three men used a shovel and a plasterer’s whisk as weapons to murder a 20-year-old man over a parking space incident at a Surrey service station.

Gun laws are very tight throughout the rest of Europe as well, which might explain why vehicle attacks are seen with alarming frequency there. On Saturday, a van drove into a crowd in Munster, Germany, killing 2 and wounding 30.

The list of crimes without guns could go on and on. Criminals can be very resourceful. If you take away their guns, they will make do with a knife, a screwdriver, a shovel, a plasterer’s whisk, or a car. And some may even manage to obtain a gun.

Gun control has not worked to stem violence in London, because gun control laws do not deter criminals. Guns do. “More guns, less crime” is more than just a catchy book title; it’s fact. And the only thing strict gun – and now knife – control laws do is to leave law-abiding citizens, like Osborne-Brooks, vulnerable and defenseless against extreme violence carried out by thugs who don’t care if they’re “allowed” to have a gun or knife.