More weapons regulations

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Mayor Stephen Mandel is calling for regulations on the sale of dangerous knives after an innocent city man was stabbed to death.

The man - identified yesterday as Brendan Malcolm McNaughton, 21 - was attacked early Saturday by a group of men, all of whom had been patrons at a west-end bar. He was stabbed and left for dead behind a strip mall near 182 Street and 89 Avenue around 3:45 a.m.

Two men have been charged.

"Like any citizen, I'm abhorred that this could happen to (anyone) whether it was someone innocent or not," Mandel told Sun Media yesterday. "It's even more horrific when it's someone innocent."

The sale of large knives capable of inflicting fatal wounds should be controlled, he said.

"We need to find a way to put a strong lobbying position before the federal (and) provincial government, if we can't pass legislation to stop knives being sold in our city. It's enough already. We maybe should've done something earlier, but it seemed under control. Now, it's back alive and - unfortunately - well, and we can't have that," he said.

The most recent slaying was Edmonton's sixth homicide of the year. Half of this year's homicides have been attributed to stab wounds. The fifth homicide victim of 2009 was 24-year-old Landis Stick, who was found fatally stabbed outside a northside apartment Feb. 19.

Police haven't said what type of knives were used in the slayings.

Saturday's victim, according to cops, had been at the Nu Wave pub with friends that night and was likely on his way home when a man started a fight with him. When several other men jumped in, the victim was stabbed.

The attackers fled in a grey four-door Mercedes, police say.

Yesterday, Det. Bill Clark said police were still investigating two persons of interest in the case.

They were also able to locate the car and execute a search warrant on a west-end home, he said.

Although the incident happened more than an hour after the Nu Wave pub closed, investigators were still looking to speak to people who had been at the bar that night.

Bar violence - and other incidents stemming from nights on the town - has been a problem city council has worked to curb, Mandel said.

"We've spent an awful lot of time and energy on this, on education and on empowerment teams," he said. "Police have been far more active. They put more resources towards controlling those events. We need to make sure this isn't a pattern. This is an aberration."

Meanwhile, he said, another family is left in mourning.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. Today must be devastating," he said. "These events have no place in our city and we need to take all steps necessary to change this."

Jayden Jeffery Zylinski, 19, was charged with second-degree murder, possession of an offensive weapon, two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, careless storage of a firearm, and careless storage of ammunition. The firearms charges are in relation to a search warrant conducted on a west-end home on the weekend.

Nathan Gordon Gour, 21, has been charged with one count of assault in relation to the initial altercation.

A juvenile male was questioned and released, and officers have identified a fourth male whom they were in the process of locating

I considered resurrecting the gun control rant thread but this is about knives, not guns. I'm not quite sure what to think. On the one hand, I don't think that average people should go around with 6 inch blades on them at all times -- I mean, if you're hunting or camping or work in construction or something that's one thing, but going to a nightclub doesn't require weaponry.
On the other hand, IMHO attempting to control the weapon sales will not effectively stop the violence. Only punishing the perpetrators (or catching them before they perpetrate) will help.

What are the knife laws in your jurisdiction?

 

I have no idea what the knife laws are in my area. I assume it's OK to carry around a Swiss Army Knife, and it's not OK to walk around with a machete, but I have no idea where the line is drawn. Certainly, if they are talking about restricting blades longer than 6-inches long when you're at a nightclub, that seems pretty reasonable. (Note - if you're going hunting or fishing or something, I'm fine with you going with a large knife, but I don't see why you'd need to carry one to a nightclub.)

 

In maryland, as in NC, pocket knives are ok up to an open total length of 4.5-10"(it really depends on the officers interpretation).
I carry a CRKT M16-14M which has a OTL of 9.25" & i have never had an issue about it.
Picture for comparison
https://www.shopatron.com/product/part_number=M16-14M/638.0

 

Here, you really can't carry a concealed weapon without a permit. It doesn't matter if it is a gun or a knife.

This is odd, because there is a report of an 11-year-old shooting his dad's pregnant girlfriend with a 20G shotgun in PA. His dad gave him the shotgun for his birthday. What a moron. America is an odd place: An 11-year-old can carry around a 20g shotgun, but he can't drink a beer till he is 21 -- 21! and he can't drive a car until he is at least 16. What a stupid place.

This fits in with your topic because you are asking if a deadly weapon should be regulated. It's really just a matter of common sense. That's an entirely different question from if weapons should be banned. Well, do we regulate beer? Do we regulate cars? Go figure.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29343766/

 

Actually chandos, the texas version of a CCP is called a CHL(Concealed Handgun License) & doesn't have anything to do with knives.

With the following definition of illegal knife

Kinda strange that they include swords & spears as illegal knives but than this is texas we are talking about.

 

Martaug - So is it legal or not to carry a concealed weapon?

 

It's legal to carry a concealed handgun with a permit.
As far as carrying a knife, if you ask half a dozen officers you will get half a dozen differnt answers.
It appears that as long as your folding blade knife has a blade length less than 5 1/2" you should be ok.
Of course most knives of that length have a clip on them so at least part of it is in plan sight.

 

I live in Massachusetts and I have a katana. That being said, I don't walk around in public with it... unless I am in ninja mode, in which case, the cops can't see me anyways.

I think the general rule up here is that it can't be longer than the width of your palm... about 3.5 - 4 inches.

 

Yeah Mass. is pretty strict, on the books anyway, not sure what the actual officer on the street actions are.

So even a mid-sized pocket knife is technically illegal.

 

Here in Virginia it's only illegal to own brass knuckles and throwing knives. There's also a concealed carry law, which applies to all weapons, but if it's not concealed, it doesn't fall unde that. I can carry my 1 foot long hunting knife and, as long as it's not concealed under a trenchcoat or the like, it's legal. Same with any of my swords (many of which would be pretty hard to conceal). Actually, it looks like most guns fall into that category, as well. As long as it's registered and you aren't concealing it, you're good.

EDIT:
Forgot to say, I'm pretty sure the definition of 'bladed weapon' in Virginia requires the blade to be 2 inches long, so anything short of that is ok, even if concealed. I regularly carry a utility knife that's about 1 inch long and is screwed into my key-chain (the wooden handle for the blade).

 

I wonder what would happen if you took your katana to a nightclub? I would hope it wouldn't be allowed in!

 

Here is Utah it's legal to "open carry" without the need of any permit at all. As long as everyone around can see you have a gun/holster on your hip, it's totally legal. I've never seen anyone do it though....on the news awhile back they had a story about a group of people that were open carry advocates who meet every so often in a public park to discuss guns and stuff like that. I wouldn't want to be the one who has to tell them that the pavilion they're at is reserved for someone else...

Back on topic though...
Pretty soon, we're all going to have to get a permit to buy a new set of kitchen knives. We'll be subject to a background check, and waiting period of one week...and we'll have to buy a special "safety block" that only allows the owner to operate the said knives....

 

Private entities have the right to make their own rules, and of course certain government institutions (courts, schools, etc.) have special laws, but if you're just walking down the street with it on your back or at your side, there's nothing wrong.

I'd also like to point out that there are laws about brandishing weapons, so if you have it drawn and you're casually walking down the street with it in your hands, things may get ugly.

 

That definitely true. Even if you live in a state that has "open carry" laws, it's still illegal to draw said firearm and point it at someone. There's a difference between carrying a weapon and threatening to use it.

 

This has nothing to due with knives but was just too funny(in an ironic way) to pass up.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090303_wz_swatrifle.1fcbf48b.html

Just a few points, if i come back & my trunk is open(& i didn't open it) i'm gonna look inside.

If you have a car that has a trunklid known to pop open, wouldn't you secure anything in the trunk?

A $1000 reward on a full auto M-16, when they could sell it on the street for several times that?

 

Yeah, what kind of officer notices his trunk, which holds an automatic M-16, is open and doesn't check it?

Rewards from crime stuff is notoriously low in all cases.

 

Even if you are against guns, you have to admit that this is pretty cool. The sound is kind of low, so you may have to turn up your speakers. Don't worry this isn't one of those videos where something jumps out to scare the snot out of you, well unless you are afraid of guns.

 

Snook, that was great.

 

Of course it is fun. I remember us, when I was in the army, blasting away excess ammo so our unit wouldn't get allocated less the next year (December fever, so to say). Ever tried two Uzis in full auto, one in each hand? Or two pistols, Chow Yun Fat style? Or firing your weapon in the 'Hongkong slant', sidewards, ignoring the sights (what are those good for anyway)? Or, my favourite: Firing your pistol on the target while running towards it? It was great fun, but also quite senseless, and thoroughly juvenile.

I'm torn between seeing the obvious fun factor and the utter silliness of the event on the video. I also don't really see the point of civilians being allowed to get their hands on fully automatic weapons for nothing but the thrill of salvo fire, but we went there before ...