Britain to ban samurai swords!
Somebody in the British government has too much time on their hands. From the Telegraph:
The sale of imitation samurai swords could be banned by the end of the year, the Home Office announced today.
Importing or hiring the weapons could also be made illegal following a string of samurai sword attacks in recent years.
Breaching the ban, which is targeted at cheap imitation samurai swords rather than the more expensive genuine collectors’ items made by licensed swordsmiths in Japan, would result in up to six months in jail and a £5,000 fine.
Media-Newswire.com has included a quote from Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker:
“Public safety is our greatest priority. Samurai sword crime is low in volume but high in profile and I recognise it can have a devastating impact. Banning the sale, import and hire will take more dangerous weapons out of circulation, making our streets safer.
“We recognise it is the cheap, easily available samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts. As such as we are putting forward exemptions for these groups.
“Knife crime and sharp instrument homicides have remained stable, while violent crime has fallen by over a third in the last nine years. It is already illegal to have a samurai sword in a public place but I want to restrict the number of dangerous weapons in circulation to enhance community safety.”
Looks like Mr. Coaker is playing up to the sensationalist media and its obsession with a few isolated instances of crazy people using samurai swords in crimes as a means of building some public support. As he has said, it is already illegal to brandish one’s katana in public, so this new rule would do nothing other than damage the business of replica sword shops and make sword-loving otaku cry. Don’t be a jerk, Mr. Coaker.
[Photo credit: URAnimeClub]
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I’m not even going to comment on the guy in the photo. Not sure what he is wearing. But these fake samurai swords are useless for committing crime. They are emphatically not sharp, and the steel they are made of is low-grade stuff that bends easily. As a bar of cheap steel they might be able to bludgeon people with it, or as a threat they might work, but as a real weapon a kitchen knife would be far better.
Another good example of why freedom of the press is not that great: the press panders to the public, rousing fear and sensationalism to sell papers, and the politicians pander to the press and how it reports their image. Perhaps if the press were genuinely free – ie didn’t cost anything – they could be less concerned with profits….
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Indeed. Won’t make itself though. Why not donate to http://www.therealnews.com ?
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Oh, come ON, England!
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“Samurai-sword crime is high in profile?” News to me!
The only example I can think was some nut-case who ran into a church, entirely naked, brandishing a sword and attacked some people, but that was a few years ago.
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Next they are going to ban anything that can be used as a blunt weapon, following that all men over 6′ 2″ are illegal.
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This reminds me of a similar law that went into effect in Hong Kong. Ban on Kung-fu weapons! A middle aged man was forced to close his shop after 20+ years of operation because of the law. He’s a typical Kung-fu fan, practices multiple forms of Kung-fu. He’s a personal friend of Bruce Lee and he designed Bruce Lee’s signature yellow jump suit. The Police raided his shop and took everything, including a Bruce Lee signed nunchuck.
Why do we allow fools to govern us? orz
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This is probably the most rediculous thing I’ve ever heard. I can see banning cheap guns as if they are constructed incorrectly the barrel will explode harming people. However banning cheap swords? Thats like banning cheap kitchen knives. Cheap swords are bought usually for decorative purposes, not for practice purposes. Seeing this makes me laugh and thank god I’m Canadian. The collection of swords for decorative purposes is not against any law I know of. My swords aren’t cheap but still. There are more gun and knife related crimes in Canada, USA and England than a sword related crime. I’m pretty disapointed in this… come on England.
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Small in number yeap, could it just be that one of thoses attacks was on a politician and his aid, who was killed in the attack? Its the usual case of politicians looking after themselves.
If you’re really pissed off, you can always go buy an axe, OK it doesn’t have much style but it’ll get the job done!
Why don’t we get a usful law like “everybody HAS to go and vote at an election” then maybe we would get a better government; that represented us better. Wouldn’t be nice to have a few independant voices instead of the weak bunch of kiss ass back benchers we have now, all too scared of loosing thier cushy made up ministerial posts and chaffeured cars.
Bansai
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The Anglo-Saxon broad sword is a far more sophisticated and better made weapon. For these reasons, it is too expensive for the crazies to afford.
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