Let's ban knives then too

Since we are introducing the “assault weapon” ban and providing the option for cities to decide if they wish to ban pistols in their jurisdictions or not, why do we not ban knives as they are proven to be quite deadly.

Knives of any type, steak, bread, cheese etc, as these items are capable of horrific crimes in the wrong persons hands, for example:

• Japan - Eight students were stabbed to death at an Osaka school in 2001
• Australia - Eight siblings killed in a mass stabbing in Queensland in Sydney in 2009.
• Australia - Eight siblings killed in a mass stabbing in Queensland in Sydney in 2009.
• China , Eight school children murdered with a knife in Nanping in March 2010
• China, Nine murdered in Hanzhong with a meat cleaver in May 2010.
• China, Terrorist knife attack in Kunming left 33 dead and 143 injured 2014
• Canada - Matthew de Grood, murdered 5 people in 2016, using only a knife.
• Japan - A former employee of a nursing home stabbed to death 19 of the patients 2016.

The United Kingdom that has some of the strictest gun control measures in the world.

On April 3, 2018, an article in USA Today stated that the murder rate in London exceeded that of New York City for the first time. A large number of articles and posts have since repeated this claim.

These are facts that I located on the web in 10 minutes, not opinions. Any item, whether it be a gun, knife, automobile, or anything else for that matter is capable of inflicting mass carnage in the wrong person’s hands.

I am an RPAL holder and attend the local range frequently, and I am legally able to use my Mossberg .22 with a 10 round clip. This weapon can, in the wrong person’s hands, kill just as many people as the rifles which our government has banned, so can the SKS which can hold 5 rounds legally. I do not see how banning a list of rifles that are similar to the aforementioned rifles will save lives.

First and foremost, we need to make a dramatic improvement in stopping the criminals who are bringing these illegal weapons into Canada from the US and supplying them to the gangs. Then we need to increase the penalties for illegal firearms, 10-20 year mandatory sentences. This makes much more sense than penalizing legal gun ownership, but it will not earn you votes.

James Anderson