By: Teresa Mull

“England … banned virtually all semi-automatic and pump-action rifles and shotguns in the 1980s, then imposed a near total ban on handguns in the 90s,” NRA-ILA reports.

So… have England’s firearm crimes decreased since draconian gun control took over? No. In 2017, gun crimes increased by 27 percent.

And lately, National Review reported in August 2018, “Great Britain has been suffering from a surge in knife crime,” leading to a desperate “stop and frisk” frenzy in parts of the country.

Just last week, the West Midlands Police Department posted the following notice to its Facebook page:

Section 60 powers are in force again today across the whole city of #Birmingham. Our officers are allowed to stop & search people without reasonable grounds, but where there is a risk of violence or believe weapons are being carried, across the whole of the city until 3am tomorrow morning (3 March). We are grateful for your support and understanding as we continue our efforts to reduce knife crime. Since the beginning of this week our teams have been finding knives across the city and arresting those who carry them. We are determined to safeguard young people as much as we can.

It’s not that England doesn’t already have knife control laws on its books. According to Gov.uk:

It’s illegal to: sell a knife to anyone under 18, unless it has a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less. carry a knife in public without good reason, unless it has a folding blade with a cutting edge 3 inches long or less. carry, buy or sell any type of banned knife.

Despite these rules, The New York Post reported in July 2018:

Knife attacks and homicides have soared in parts of the UK — as the number of police officers has dropped, according to new statistics.

The total number of homicides, which includes murder and manslaughter, surged 12 percent from the previous year to 701 in England and Wales for the year ending in March, the Office for National Statistics said.

Police-recorded knife crimes have also ballooned 16 percent to 40,147.

Gun crime saw a 2 percent uptick with 6,492 offenses over the same time period.

The repetitive “ban this, ban that!” mentality is maddening and deadly.

Who else is extra grateful we won The War for American Independence 236 years ago?

UPDATE: MILITARY READY TO INTERVENE

The Independent reports:

The UK armed forces “stand ready” to intervene in the knife crime epidemic, the defence secretary has said.

[Defence Secretary] Gavin Williamson said military personnel “would always be ready to respond” to calls for help while the Ministry of Defence “always stands ready to help any government department”.

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].