h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

3 inches sorry, not 4cm

> And then saying "it's my right" because - sure, maybe it is. But the victims of gun crime also have rights. And the right to live trumps anyone's right to own an assault weapon. (other weapons are available)

>>Thy have a right to seek remedies in court.

I am far more interested in prevention rather than in remedies after the fact. No remedy can replace a human life.

Appareently, pepper spray cannot be used in Germany except against hostile animals.

One German suggested, 'Carry it with you for protection against dogs. But, as you are allowed to use anything in an emergency, use it against two-legged predators when necessary.'

I gather the question of what knives/swords/etc can be carried about in Germany is a serious one for all those re-enactors. We need Malabarista on this one. As I recall, she schlepped a broadsword on the Wuppertal Seilbahn oncet.

Here's some more legalese in German - you could try the machine translation if you aren't fluent:

https://www.dialog-ueber-deutschland.de/DE/20-Vorschlaege/10-Wie-Leben/Einzelansicht/vorschlaege_einzelansicht_node.html?cms_idIdea=17070

It says that since 2009, you can't have a folding knife in your pocket that can be opened with one hand without a good reason, and no open carrying of knives with blades longer than 12 cm. So if you buy a bread knife in the shop, you need to carry it home in a box.

A four year felony for carrying a knife?

I'm writing a paper on Peck v. UK, and it seems to me that life for the council would have been a lot easier if they arrested him.

Yes, the Germans are very strict with their knifes. Here it's not so bad, I think only knifes that open with a spring or something are forbidden. You are not allowed to carry some specific kinds that are obviously meant for attacking people.

I think Austria's probably got the right method for gun control, based on the description. I would remove the requirement to prove that you "need" the gun, however. I also don't care for all these laws against knives and switchblades. I want a switchblade.

I also want numerous kinds of swords.

And a number of other antiquated weapons.

For.... collecting purposes.... yes....

Cut lass?

My has been stopped in both UK and Germany (in civvies, no outward sign of being a ) and had his bag searched. And in the UK he had to wait while they called his boss to confirm that he is a uses his own knives and is not allowed to leave them at work.

Here in Germany they just wanted to be sure he had them in his knife-carrying thing.

"A four year felony for carrying a knife?"

Yep. There are exceptions. It's a well-known "fact" (i.e. I have no idea whether it's true or not) that in the UK you are permitted to carry a flick knife or similar only if you are a one-armed fisherman. There are also numerous exceptions for chefs, scuba divers etc. who have legitimate reasons for carrying knives.

But yes - if you're out in public carrying a knife without a legitimate reason, hell yeah, four years inside, why not? I don't want people walking round tooled up, and it seems neither do most other people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/8/newsid_2496000/2496685.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Philip_Lawrence

Appallingly, in the latter case, the worthless scum foreigner who murdered a schoolteacher was, on his release after serving less than 14 years, allowed to remain in the UK rather than being immediately deported, apparently because he has a "right to a family life". I do feel sorry for Italians, who apparently live in a country where it's not possible to have a "family life", according to our courts. (He was free for about four months before he was arrested for another violent attack.)

What do you mean, why not? It's draconian, that's why not.

Draco has a lot to answer for, or at least he always seems to be used in various discussions, like others use the term be-jaysus and oh-gawd.

This is not hyperbole. There's a very large and very important difference between justice and tyranny. I don't like crime either, but four years for carrying a knife, especially if you weren't even using it, is ridiculous. It's like Jean-Valjean being sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor over a loaf of bread. Punishment has to be made to fit the crime, NOT exceed it.

Fair enough. I suppose the "4 year sentence" is dependent on what action the police take (within the police purview) and the judge. This flexibility the police and courts have in applying / interpreting the law would then be open to them acting on their own prejudices / biases. However, one would think that reasonable care would be taken and it would depend on the specific circumstances. I think the British would be more accepting of this law than say the Americans.

"four years for carrying a knife, especially if you weren't even using it, is ridiculous"

Tell that to the widow of Philip Lawrence. Or Stephen Lawrence. Or any of the people not called Lawrence, stabbed to death by scumbags every year. Your position seems to be that right up to the point that I begin actually stabbing someone, my possession of a deadly weapon in a public place is nobody else's concern. THAT is ridiculous.

Carrying a knife without good reason is perfectly good evidence, to me, that a person has *extremely* violent intent - otherwise why have they got it? They demonstrate by carrying it that they wish to be in a position to kill someone quickly if they want to. I don't want people like that on the street, at all.

Slightly arguing against my standard position here I realise, but,
"Carrying a knife without good reason is perfectly good evidence, to me, that a person has *extremely* violent intent - otherwise why have they got it?"

extremely violent really? We've seen the articles about those so afraid of guns that they feel they should carry one in self-defence - that may or may not make them more violent but I don't think it qualifies as extremely violent unless you're wilfully going to attack people or set yourself up

Do maces fall under a separate part of the law?

I declare my right to have under my overcoat a samurai sword, or carving knife for
a) innocent loiterings outside nightclubs late at night
b) innocent loitering outside hole in the wall cashpoints late at night
c) when joining up with my like minded mates for attending a football match derby
d) for my innocent eye witness investigations of large scale rioting events
e) ...

"extremely violent really? "

Yes, really. What do you call sticking a sharpened piece of metal into someone deliberately, if not "extremely violent"?

And you should be clear - the ONLY point to carrying a knife is if you are ready and willing to do that at a second's notice. Because if you're not - if you're the sort of macho cretin that takes a knife out and shows it to someone or waves it around - you are inviting an even more rapid and violent response.

People who carry knives thinking they won't need to use them have, in general, seen too many movies and not enough stabbings.

I didn't say carrying a knife for the purposes of looking hard or trying to scare away someone else weren't signs of being an idiot

Are you people nuts? Unlike a gun, a knife is a versatile tool that can be applied in many different situations for the benefit of EVERYBODY. It is not solely a weapon and shouldn't be treated as such. At least half the people I know carry around knives all the time and none of them have ever tried to kill me with it. By the way Hooloovoo, invoking the specific name of a specific victim, as you just did, is identical to my previous mentioning of someone who died in a car accident. And I refer you to your own response: http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F19585?thread=8298881&skip=305&show=20 Hypocrite.