Alert: Americans Issuing Alarming Demands as Knife Control Jumps Atlantic
The idea of knife control was, up until recently, pretty much a quip used by Second Amendment supporters to point out that it’s not the weapon that’s responsible for the crime but rather the criminal. And then, London’s Sadiq Khan stepped in.
Khan, for those of you who haven’t heard, is presiding over a city with a higher murder rate than New York even though firearms are pretty much verboten in ol’ Blighty. So, he did what any sensible man who wanted to become a worldwide punchline would do — he announced a war on knives.
“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,” Khan wrote on Twitter earlier this month.
Khan quickly became a figure of fun in some quarters of the political landscape, and one might think his knife policy would have been contained to the British Isles. After all, this is England; all sorts of bizarre ideas start there, including knife control, the NHS and black pudding. For the most part, they stay there, and this is a very good thing.
Alas, however, the knife contagion has come to the United States, and in a most surprising place — Texas.
According to KXAN, Lori Brown — who lost her son in a knife attack — has met with “policy advisers in Gov. Greg Abbott’s office about her concerns over Texas knife laws and security on college campuses.”
“I have nothing to lose. I will not take ‘no’ for an answer,” Brown said. “If something like (the stabbing attack) happens again, I just don’t know what I would do.”
Brown’s son Harrison was one of four people who were stabbed during a spree killing at the University of Texas Austin in May 2017. Kendrex White, 21, now faces charges of murder and aggravated assault after the attack with a “Bowie-style” knife.
“Bottom line: It should have never happened that day. It should not have happened. (White) should have not been allowed to have an illegal knife on him and use it to murder somebody,” Brown said.
Texas, believe it or not, already has some knife control in place. While HB 1935 expanded access to certain kinds of knives that can be carried, it also made it illegal to carry larger knives in a number of places, including schools, correctional facilities, sporting events and venues where more than 51 percent of the revenue comes from alcohol sales.
But to Brown, that isn’t enough.
“In my opinion, (HB 1935) totally disregards Harrison and how he died and his murder. It really did feel like a slap in the face,” Brown said.
“I’m hoping to maybe repeal, or amend, or maybe poke some holes into House Bill 1935,” Brown added. “In addition to that, I’d also like to see some changes made — on college campuses, university campuses and with this House Bill — that prevent knives, Bowie knives, swords, machetes from getting into the wrong hands and coming onto campus.”
It’s difficult to understand the depth of Brown’s grief over losing her son, but it’s not hard to realize it’s one of the most intense pains that any individual can feel.
That being said, how “knife control” would have saved her son simply doesn’t add up. The only people who obey these laws are those who don’t have criminal intent. It’s the same thing as the gun-free zone — why would a law deter someone who plans to commit a criminal act?
Knife control is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds. It won’t bring back Harrison Brown. It won’t prevent future murders of the same kind. Like so many other things, this is an idea that ought to have been kept in England. Let’s hope Ms. Brown’s effort is just an isolated aberration.
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