Listen....

You can actually hear the bleating of sheep while reading this one.  




www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/campaigns/2006/01jan/060116sam.shtml

Echo calls for ban on samurai swords after death of local man

By HoldtheFrontPage staff

The Express & Echo in Exeter is calling for samurai swords to be banned, after a local man was stabbed to death in the street.

The newspaper wants the government to stop the sale of the swords, with an exemption for licensed groups.

It is not currently illegal to buy a sword, only to carry it in public.

And a day after Sidmouth man Bradley Moran admitted killing 33-year-old Matthew Stiling by stabbing him through the heart with the 18-inch blade of a samurai sword, an Echo reporter discovered how easy it is to buy one unchecked from an Exeter shop.

Journalist David Edbrooke paid £120 for a sword with a 2.5ft sharpened blade, and said it was "as easy as buying a lotto ticket".

Echo editor Marc Astley said: "It is incredible that our reporter was able to buy such a terrifying weapon, no questions asked. I was shocked at just how sharp and heavy the blade is.

"Although they are supposed to be for ceremonial use the sword we purchased was lethal. There is no excuse for this sort of thing to be sold to anyone but licensed organisations and we will be pursuing our campaign with vigour."

David said: "Buying the sword was almost as easy as purchasing a pack of sweets.

"I simply went into the shop, saw two sheathed samurai swords hanging above the counter and asked to look at one.

"After giving it a quick inspection, I offered my credit card up and that was that.

"The only other requirement asked of me was to write my name and address in a little black book that the shop kept.

"I found it staggering that I was able to go into a city centre shop and in a matter of minutes walk out with such a dangerous, offensive weapon - I've spent more time in my local newsagents picking numbers for the lottery or buying a bag of marshmallows than I did buying the sword."

The campaign has been backed by Devon & Cornwall Police and Exeter Police as well as Matthew's family.

Marc added: "There will be some who argue that household knives could be as deadly as samurai swords.

"Try telling that to the family of Matthew Stiling.

"When his killer became aggrieved he didn't reach for the kitchen drawer, he armed himself with a weapon worth hundreds of pounds and murdered an innocent young man.

"The Echo accepts that some martial arts groups use such weapons innocently.

"We hope they will accept that calling for their sale to be restricted is sensible and reasonable.

"We will pursue this campaign to the bitter end and will be calling on Echo readers to play their part too.

"If that means that together we help prevent a single death or injury, it will have been worth it."

Quoted: ...calling for samurai swords to be banned... ...local man was stabbed to death in the street... ...not currently illegal to buy a sword, only to carry it in public...

It's the U.K.  

Who cares. As long as they choose to bow to a Queen, rather than stand on their own two feet, I feel not the smallest iota of pity. They chose their own destiny.


roy d....there but by the grace of God, go we

Quoted: It is not currently illegal to buy a sword, only to carry it in public."

So the killer already broke a couple laws - carry & killing.


One more law would matter?  

So....because it's entirely legal for me to buy a chainsaw, but not to hack people up with it out in front of city hall they should be banned as well?

Quoted: They'd  have more luck if they just banned people. Into the cattlecar!

SCHNELL! SCHNELL!

Quoted: Marc added: "There will be some who argue that household knives could be as deadly as samurai swords. "Try telling that to the family of Matthew Stiling. "When his killer became aggrieved he didn't reach for the kitchen drawer, he armed himself with a weapon worth hundreds of pounds and murdered an innocent young man.

Apparently, Marc didn't get the memo...

"Doctors seek kitchen knife ban
EDWARD BLACK

Key points
• Doctors claim long kitchen knives serve no purpose except as weapons
• 55 out of 108 homicide victims in Scotland were stabbed last year
• Police superintendents say a ban would be difficult to enforce

Key quote
"Many assaults are impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or misuse of other drugs, and the long pointed kitchen knife is an easily available, potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the domestic setting" - Dr Emma Hern, writing in British Medical Journal

Story in full LONG, pointed kitchen knives should be banned as part of a concerted effort to reduce the terrible injuries and deaths caused by stabbing attacks, doctors warned today.

Accident and emergency medics claim the knives serve no useful purpose in the kitchen but are proving deadly on the streets of Britain, with the doctors claiming the knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings.

The doctors claimed they had consulted leading chefs who said the knives were not needed for cooking - a claim disputed by chefs contacted by The Scotsman.

Latest figures from the Scottish Executive show that in 2003, 55 of 108 homicide victims were stabbed by a sharp instrument - often a kitchen knife.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, specialist registrar Dr Emma Hern and emergency medicine consultant Dr Mike Beckett said a short pointed knife may cause a substantial superficial wound if used in an assault, but is unlikely to penetrate to inner organs. However, a pointed long blade pierces the body like "cutting into a ripe melon".

Internal organs can be heavily damaged, causing serious injury or death. The doctors said long knives with blunt ends - such as bread knives - would do far less damage.

Dr Hern said: "Many assaults are impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or misuse of other drugs, and the long pointed kitchen knife is an easily available, potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the domestic setting. Government action to ban the sale of such knives would drastically reduce their availability over the course of a few years."

Scotland's most respected pathologist, Professor Anthony Busuttil, said: "All the statistics show that for the last 15 years, victims of stabbings, whether fatal or seriously injured, are caused by kitchen knives such as steak knives rather than knives bought specially for the purpose."

Restaurateurs and chefs reacted angrily to suggestions of banning kitchen knives. Malcolm Duck, chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association, said: "Kitchen knives are designed for a purpose. It would be like asking a surgeon to perform an operation with a bread knife instead of a scalpel. Anything in the house like a cricket bat could be used as weapon in the hands of an idiot."

Chief Superintendent Tom Buchan, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, said although a ban on sharp, pointed kitchen knives would be welcome, it could be difficult to enfor"

news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=579102005

...and here I thought a samurai sword was a defensive weapon.

...doesn't a samurai sword have a blunt front end?

Then again I don't know much about swords.

That's what happens when you ban guns... People just kill each other with something else. Saw another article frrom the U.K. concerned with the number of stabbings with kitchen knives and talk of banning bows and arrows too. They'll be pummeling each other with stones before long.