The United Kingdom has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the world. Many were passed after a mass shooting in Dunblaine, Scotland, but have also been advanced as a way to address violent crime. This is a typical narrative; one we see here in the United States all of the time. It just worked there.
And many claim that the law has worked just fine. The thing is, if it really worked as designed, then it was never meant to stop violence at all.
We know this because, despite guns being such a terrible thing, the UK government has a different target.
Confirmed: Ninja swords will be banned by this summer.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 27, 2025
When we promise action we take it. https://t.co/gjJEQIMI10
"Ninja swords."
I won't even get into the correct nomenclature, in part because my knowledge of swords largely revolves around Europe, but man, this is such a self-own on guns.
See, Starmer makes it pretty clear that knives were an issue in the post he quoted. To some degree, that suggests gun control worked, but it also makes it clear that it didn't do anything to stop violent criminals at all.
They just moved to other weapons.
One question gun rights supporters often sling is, "What's next? Knife control?"
Well, yes. That's where the UK went. They loudly and proudly brag about taking dangerous knives off of the streets, only to show pictures that look like the utensil drawer of my first apartment. They hold up kitchen knives as dangerous weapons, then try to ban "zombie knives," most of which look like they'd come from some of America's finest gas stations. They just say "zombie" on them, apparently. That makes them more dangerous or something.
Now, the target is "ninja swords."
Have there been sword crimes in the UK? Apparently, there has been. At least one, to be specific.
In 2022, a young man was stabbed with a so-called ninja sword in a case of mistaken identity. Now, martial arts enthusiasts are potentially going to have to give up their "ninja swords" because of a single incident.
British subjects gave up their guns. They're giving up their knives and their swords. They'll soon give up their cricket bats and hammers, I'm sure.
All the while, violent criminals are still being violent.
Why? Because the British authorities are doing the most idiotic thing they could do. They're focusing on the tool and not the tool using it. They're blaming inanimate objects for the willful decisions of people, then focusing on punishing everyone who had nothing at all to do with what happened. They're talking about reducing penalties for entering their nation illegally, kicking in doors over memes, threatening people with arrest for praying in their own homes, and then wondering why they have a problem.
They're looking everywhere for an issue and making it harder and harder for anyone to defend themselves, all without a hint of self-awareness that maybe their weapon control laws aren't actually stopping crime.
The UK was once a proper country, one we could count on when stuff got real anywhere in the world.
Now, they're a joke.
