The families of stabbing victims are calling for a five-year minimum sentence for carrying a knife.
I can understand why these families feel as they do, but I think this is a misguided position to to take nevertheless. I have to grit my teeth as I say this, but knives don't kill people, people do. Unlike assault rifles, there are hundreds of legitimate uses for knifes - laying carpets, gardening, wood carving, cooking, sharpening pencils, crafts. A blanket law would seriously affect these legitimate activities. I can't find it on the web, but I recall a case where a carpet fitter was charged with carrying an offensive weapon in conection with one of the carpet fitting tools he had in the boot of his car.
If I buy a set of kitchen knives or craft knives, how do I get them home? What about screwdrivers - there have been many case over the years of people stabbed with a screwdriver. However difficult it is to prove, any law must relate not to the simple fact of possession of a tool for which there are also legitimate uses, but to intent and we already have those laws in place.
...and yes I do think there is a difference between owning a knife and owning a gun.
