John Fund on Knife control in the UK

From John Fund's Political Diary at OpinionJournal:

Opponents of gun control have long argued that once guns are banned or severely restricted, governments will next move to control other weapons. That seems to be the case in Britain, where Tony Blair has used the issue to placate leftists. Last year, the national government pushed through a law banning the sale of so-called "assault knives" and machetes -- despite persuasive evidence that the vast majority of stabbings are done with kitchen knives. Sure enough, a group of prominent doctors writing in the British Medical Journal soon demanded that long-bladed kitchen knives also be added to the list of banned weapons. In their article, the good doctors assured readers they had consulted with ten noted chefs, most of whom agreed that shorter knives could be just as effective in preparing food. . . .

Even most physicians were appalled [by the proposal], with one joking about the inevitable black market that would develop for kitchen cutlery: "Psst... I have a fine carving knife here under the store counter and it's only 50 pounds. Just don't tell anyone where you found it."

No one expects further moves in the direction of knife control in Britain in the immediate future, but the direction is clear. Soon there will undoubtedly be a call to register and strictly control cricket bats too.