Swords Banned In Australia

[arnisador]

It would certainly be fun! When I taught at West Point, some of the students were authorized to wear swords. I thought that that was cool.

 

[Bammx2]

I must admit,being from the states,and now living here in the UK,I totally disagree with the way things are being handled as far as weapons "control" in both australia and the UK.

It seems to me,they definatley have the WRONG idea! They want to make a mandatory 5 year sentence for being in possesion of a knife here.
If you are in possesion of a LOCKING folder,regardless of size...you ARE a criminal here.Go staraight to jail,do not pass go,do not collect £200.
The are 3 problems I see here;
1-they want to punish the OBJECT,not the ACT.
2-they punish the ENTIRE country for the screw ups of a few.
3-they lack(or ignore)the power of EDUCATION.

I saw a police officer on tv 2 weeks ago who admitted that because of knife and gun crimes,we are on the threshold of total anarchy.
Mainly because people are getting fed up and are starting to FIGHT BACK.
But as previously stated...you are a criminal if you do.
One other thing I see wrong...maybe cause I'm a country boy from tarheel country...When they ban these things,they ONLY go after the ones they know about....and they gave them up without a fight.
Both countrues have(or had) an olympic shooting team....and they have to leave thier home soil just to practice to represent THIER HOME SOIL.

:shrug:

 

[Tgace]

Yes..inanimate objects are the cause of all human suffering dont you know?

:shrug:

 

[Bammx2]

In the US in 1994, there were over 11,500 gun related deaths, compared to the UK where we had 64. There's a massive difference in gun availability here thank Christ!

That was '94.
in 2003 ....
11,000 shootings in the US.
Population,approx 270 million.

The UK:
28 shootings a day.10,220 for the year.
Population,approx 60 million.

Now someone is gonna throw up "but they are not all homicides"
fine....but this IS a country where ALL guns are banned except shotguns and low cal rifles.MOST of those "incidents" were handguns and FULL-AUTO.

per capita...who wins?

 

[Tgace]

And a LARGE chunk of US "gun deaths" are suicides. If those guns weren't available they would have found other means......

 

[Bammx2]

And a LARGE chunk of US "gun deaths" are suicides. If those guns weren't available they would have found other means......

funny that.
the MEDIA in any country NEVER specify just exactly what the actual occurance was.
They just throw in WHAT happened..not WHY.
and I know the some ole,lame ole...."if it bleeds, it leads"

and yer right...they would find another way,but would we know about it?
HHhhmmm.......
things that make ya go......hhhmmm....

 

[Feisty Mouse]

And a LARGE chunk of US "gun deaths" are suicides. If those guns weren't available they would have found other means......

How big a chunk?

 

[Tgace]

In 1999, 58% of all gun deaths were suicides, and 38% were homicides. (SOURCE: Hoyert DL, Arias E, Smith BL, Murphy SL, Kochanek, KD. Deaths: Final Data for 1999. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2001;49 (8).)

Probably part of the "a gun in your house is X% more likely to be used against the homeowner" stat......

 

[arnisador]

Knife Epidemic in the U.K.:
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11928

 

[Satt]

Every time I hear a story like this my stomach sinks. It scares me to think about the government slowly but surely restricting what I can and can't do. That is why I am getting out of the military. I really don't like the government trying to control every aspect of my life. It really makes me angry about it happening in the civilian world though. And it makes me even angrier that I feel I can't do anything to prevent it.

:jedi1:

 

[arnisador]

In fairness, you have to expect it in the service.

Are they restricting you with a sword ban, or protecting you? Half empty, or half full?

 

[Satt]

In fairness, you have to expect it in the service.

Yeah, you are right about the service. I am just getting out because of it and I want to be with my family more. I am a firm believer that people kill people though, not the sword I mean. I truly believe that even if ALL weapons were banned that there would still be tons of shootings, stabbings, etc...(because the "bad people" would still have them), But noone would have the tools to defend themselves except for their bare hands.

:mp5: :idunno: :jedi1:

I guess I should really start studying hard core on my Taijutsu. LOL.

 

[Kane]

Maybe for Australia, such a law might be legal. Here in the US the sword is probably the least weapon used in crimes. You will here cases of of a pistol, shotgun, or even a mace or battle axe but never a sword. Such a law in the US would be almost useless and a waste of time.

However you see that is what happens when you ban guns. Once you ban guns, people will find something else to use. That is probably why swords are used so commonly in Australia at the time. With ban on gun, people found more use for a sword. With the ban of swords people will look to kitchen knives until finally they ban that:lol:. Then people will use sticks, and then sticks will be banned:lol:. Then people will result to their hands, feet, and mouth. Are they going to ban that too:idunno: ?

So the question is will banning weapons prevent deaths when people will keep looking for other weapons:idunno: ? I dunno, but one thing is for certain; it is easier to pull a trigger than to slash a sword, and it is easier to slash a sword than to punch someone to death. Not sure about the weapons issue.

My conclusion is that weapons control should maybe controlled (gun license at least) but in the end I think people should look to improving the society to prevent murder more than looking how to ban weapons.

 

[Gray Phoenix]

The Australian government is a freely elected state. The people have spoken, and they have chosen a "progressive", read authoritarian, form of governemnt. I've said it before, freedoms are never taken away, they are given freely, piece by piece.

 

[Angelusmortis]

First off, having lived, born and bred in the UK for 28 years, and an ex copper of a few years, (and served in the Royal Navy, during the second Gulf) I totally and utterly reject the "28 shootings a day", every day. The 1994 quote was one we had a few years ago, and that wasn't just "shootings" that was gun related murders, not bloody suicides! The UK has approx 60 million people, 5 times less or so than the US, 5x64 ain't 11,500. You guys have a national obsession with guns, that verges on the irresponsible from what I hear. We had combined ops with the Canadians on one occassion, and from what I hear, they don't have anywhere near your problems. Our gun crime is on the increase, numbering in the low hundreds now, but still far, far less than the US. The rest of the world doesn't have this nonsensical "right to bear arms" bs. Either somewhere is a warzone, in which case people kill each other, or they're as civilised as they can be.


We have a growing gun culture in the UK, and you're right, it will occur underground, the badness in human society always does, but to not have a provision of law for certain issues would definately make the situation even worse. We have(had) the rule of law in the UK, and arming the public so that they can "defend" themselves against the "bad guys" is a total nonsense which some of the Americans on the board seem to have difficulty grasping. You wouldn't sit there and say "it's ok to sexually molest children, and we won't pass a law against it cos it'll drive it underground". Would you? No. Case in point. These weapons, while beautiful and elegant, are lethal, and whether they're inanimate objects or not is besides the point. I'm fairly certain that some common sense would be applied, relevant police background checks etc... into people applying for dispensation from the law. I'll say it again, this is the 21st Century, Western world, NOT, the Wild West, or feudal Japan, nor modern day America with it's gun loving culture. Any responsible martial artist, who trains in any of the sword arts shouldn't have a problem with getting dispensation. Those who study because they think it makes them sound/look hard, standing in front of the mirror wafting it around, perhaps they're the ones who shouldn't have 'em in the first place.

 

[rmcrobertson]

Uh-oh, somebody reasonable....

 

[arnisador]

Satt, good luck with your transition!

 

[Tgace]

http://www.haciendapub.com/article15.html

 

[Tgace]

First off, having lived, born and bred in the UK for 28 years, and an ex copper of a few years, (and served in the Royal Navy, during the second Gulf) I totally and utterly reject the "28 shootings a day", every day. The 1994 quote was one we had a few years ago, and that wasn't just "shootings" that was gun related murders, not bloody suicides!

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/9788515.htm

Majority of gun deaths are suicides. By Janice Billingsley

www.jointogether.org/sa/Files/pdf/Connections.pdf

Contrary to popular belief, most gun deaths are suicides, not homicides ... people killed by firearms, 16,599 were suicides. ( Centers for Disease Control ...

FACT: Suicide is still the leading cause of firearm death in the U.S., representing 56% of total 2002 gun deaths nationwide. In 2002, the U.S. firearm suicide total was 17,108, a 1% increase from 2001 numbers. Total gun suicides in Illinois for 2002 were 466, a decrease of 8% from the 2001 numbers. Most suicides in the U.S. are committed with firearms.

-Numbers obtained from CDC National Center for Health Statistics mortality report online, 2005.

While the firearms issue is open for debate. This one is pretty black and white. Most of the gun deaths in the US are by suicide. And hey its their body right? As long as they aren't hurting anybody else...:shrug:

 

[RRouuselot]

……….

Existing sword owners must surrender their weapons to police, sell them to a licensed dealer or apply to the Chief Commissioner for specific approval.

Collectors and people with legitimate cultural, religious or military reasons to own swords will be exempted from the ban, but must store them under lock and key and have a burglar alarm.

……………………
The new laws will make it illegal to sell swords to anyone who does not have a permit.

Sword sellers will have to keep a register of buyers' details and make it available for police to inspect.

This is actually very similar to Japanese sword laws. Maybe I am used to it but it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal if you are a legit sword owner and not some punk thug.

This might even benefit legit sword owners by making their swords more valuable…..who knows….