omni's Comments (4)

I made the claim that you shouldn't not prevent something just because it wouldn't make a difference on the outcome. So, while preventing use of cyanide gas would not have affected the mass genocide in the holocaust it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. An extreme example, I know, but an example nonetheless. Regarding nazis putting into place gun laws, the main ones were actually implemented by the Weimar Republic before the nazis acquired power. However, whether banning weapons puts too much power into the hands of gov... ( View formatted comment » )

While I can see that the banning of the samurai sword may seem ineffective when considering the large number of other weapons which are perfectly legal (when I say legal I mean legal to own and not brandish in the street obviously) I do not understand what the opposition to the law actually is. From my perspective the people who own samurai swords are either collectors, martial artists, weapons enthusiasts or criminals (perhaps a generalisation but not far off the truth). Now, under the law the first 3 groups would be able to acquire them gi... ( View formatted comment » )

From what I've heard martial artists will be allowed to possess samurai swords but only if they can prove they are committed to the martial art (probably by reaching 1st dan or something similar). There is no point letting just any novice own a samurai sword, and besides every club I've been to in the UK uses bokken instead of real swords anyway. ( View formatted comment » )

Civilian possession of firearms is allowed but only if you hold a license and if you can provide evidence that you need it for your job or sport (i.e. hunting) from what I understand. Also, before you get issued a license you have to jump through a load of hoops like interviews and background checks by the secret service. Regarding the banning of samurai swords, there have actually been quite a few more recent cases than the one in the article. In fact, in London these are one of the weapons of choice of gangs and a policeman friend tells me... ( View formatted comment » )