It has been a while since we’ve looked at weapon news from across the pond, but with Americans everywhere having just celebrated the Glorious Fourth and our independence from the British monarchy, the timing seems particularly appropriate.
Previous alerts have described Great Britain’s national “firearm surrender” campaign (aimed at encouraging residents of the sceptered isle to surrender firearms, ammunition, weapons, and any other object even vaguely reminiscent of a gun to local police stations), the weaponization of generally benign items like pliers, files, and discarded bicycle wheels (prompting the sarcastic response, “You[’re] doing God’s work out there. Lost my mother to a bike wheel”), and this year’s new ban on what the Brits call “ninja swords.”
In addition to the “ninja sword” ban, the law enforcement focus remains on bladed weapons generally.
“Operation Sceptre,” for instance, is a nationwide, semi-annual initiative dedicated to intensified police action against knife crime in England and Wales, in which police officers conduct “knife sweeps” in outdoor public areas and patrols in “knife crime hotspots,” visit retailers to test whether they sell knives to minors, and set up temporary “surrender bins” in which the public can drop off knives and blades to “bin a knife, save a life.” A local police official commenting on their Sceptre activities last year made it clear that “[t]here is no excuse for carrying a knife. Our message is simple, carrying a knife puts yours and other lives at risk … anyone caught with a knife will be arrested and put before the courts.”
Click the link to read the whole article: U.K. Reminds Americans Why 1776 was a Good Idea
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