Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/04/four-months-for-six-inches-british-man-jailed-for-carrying-bladed-legend-of-zelda-fidget-toy.html
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Oh hah hah, those funny Brits!
Actually their restrictions on knives is Orwellian. You cannot carry a multi tool like the Leatherman unless its blade does not lock, which is not a safe way to use it.
Its a creeping overreach of the government infantilizing citizens , and it is an example of the slippery slope argument playing out in reality that some people in the US laugh at.
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Being British myself I know the limited Horizons of our programming! If you hear one say “what do you need it for?” just reply “you go to jail for having something you don’t need?” and watch them have to process that entire conceptual stack from scratch because they’ve never done it before.
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while I agree their knife restrictions are pretty over-the-top, couldn’t having a lower rate of knife-related deaths be an indication that their restrictions are working?
Countries with low rates of gun deaths also have strict gun laws.
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Does someone profit by keeping the jails full over there? That’s a major factor of the prison dystopia over here in peanut-butter land. (“s’lways the dosh, in’t it?”)
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Canada has recently restricted folding knives that you can open one-handed. I carry a nifty ceramic bladed (good for poking around junction boxes with the non-conductive blade) pocket knife with a stud on the blade that lets me open it with a flick of my thumb; I’m not going to stop carrying it regardless of this stupid law. All sorts of tradespeople also have replaceable blade folding utility knives that work exactly the same way.
This just begs for a legal challenge here.
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Missing context:
" What’s missing from every report about this I could find, and what is so crucial to understanding this story, however is that Anthony Bray is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet and numerous prison sentences, several of which were for burglary including serial burglary. In 2011, Bray was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison after getting “three strikes” for burgling residences. But his run-ins with the law go back to 1989 and he was in court numerous times throughout the 90s as well."
So while his arrest might be a bit odd, his priors affect his sentence
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It’s been decades of these “hard on crime” knife laws, and you end up with ridiculous things like this. (Despite crime being down from its height in the 90s, similar to the US).
But he shouldn’t have been arrested and charged in the first place, because I don’t think this model has much utility as an actual weapon. A sturdy sharpened stick would pose more danger, IMO.
Just because someone has priors, doesn’t excuse BS charges and sentences.
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I was to wear a sgian-dubh as part of highland dress at a formal event in Michigan a few years ago. I’m Canadian, and while it isn’t totally out of the ordinary here, it’s somewhat rarer in the US.
After a lot of back and forth with organizers, it was decided that cultural attire is irrelevant; it’s a hidden dagger and as such very much not legal for wear in Michigan. I was asked to wear a fake one instead.
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Can you process their reply if they answer. “No, only potentially lethal weapons carried openly.”?
Besides the guy is a known local felon by all accounts so I’m not too broken up about this case.
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Here’s an equally lethal weapon I sometimes openly carry. I’ve blurred it so as not to unduly frighten
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oh i don’t really worry too much that if we ban guns, we might start throwing people in jail for owning toy guns.
remember: we already permit law enforcement to shoot and kill children who are carrying such toys ( generally only if they are black kids, granted. )
is banning pocket knives too far? yeah, probably. is letting people have bump stocks, and assault weapon paraphernalia not far enough? absolutely.
if we’re worried about slippery slopes, the cat got out of the bag when we invented law.
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Well then you’ve just accepted my frame of reference and get a lecture! The point is that “need” is irrelevant to the law but exposes unexamined norms. Bringing it up shows that the law is shadowed by hidden values that can support its priorities (the law doesn’t care if you “need” your lethal weapon) or provide socially-acceptable cover to ignore the law (it’s ok, you “need” your lethal weapon). This is an example of laws in England (and influenced legal systems) tending to be tools of discretionary prosecution rather than systematic enforcement, which has social benefits and costs depending on who and whom.
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Excellent point!
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Canadian law is also a fun one for this since (among other restrictions) the cops get to play “guess why you have it on you” and charge you if they feel the answer is nefarious intent. The same belt that’s holding up your pants can catch you a concealed weapon charge if it’s rolled up in your pocket because obviously you brought it for the purposes of slipping it over your hand in a street brawl. 
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this reminds me of how germany polices the naziis. they dont even allow behaviour thats reminiscent of naziis. and weirdly, you dont see many. its so draconian, and yet effective. wow, so you cant open carry a knife. and knife crimes are very low. maybe we should loosen up the restrictions and see what happens. surely, we can trust people not to use them the way they used to. or to use them the way they used to before that, when everyone had one and used them openly and regularly for lots of things. i wonder why we cant do that now.
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Sir, you say you are carrying pencils because you’re headed to a drawing competition. But sir, your style is smoothly-shaded and impressionistic—calling for blunted and burnished soft graphite—not the detailed hyperrealism implied by the freshly-sharepned implements you have in hand. These pencils, Sir, are lethal weapons, and there’s no potential about it. Take him in, boys.
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