Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Time for Knife Control??

At least 14 people were wounded at a Texas college campus when a deranged individual went from building to building with either a knife or some other sharp implement and randomly stabbed people.

This is a terrible event and I wish nothing but good health and a speedy recovery to the victims.  I hope the person responsible is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

However, if we follow the liberal line of thinking to its logical conclusion, should knives and other sharp implements be banned?  Should there be national and state legislation on knife control?  Will Governor Cuomo ram through such legislation through the Assembly and Senate in the middle of the night?

Just curious.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

No, I think that only assault knives should be banned, and a thorough background check be done before a knife could be purchased.

Anonymous said...

What about corkscrews? fingernail clippers? Box cutters?

Anonymous said...

I think there is knife control, switchblades, double edge knives, butterfly knives are all illegal. Chinese stars. Bad analogy on your part. By the way, why did you support one memorializing resolution and comment on how much you hate them, and then never say a word when the next one came out a week later. Can you say hypocrite.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

5:08,

You clearly missed the point, but liberals usually do.

The point is that having a knee jerk reaction to ban guns is foolish and accomplishes nothing. A person willing to kill will use anything they can, e.g. gun, knife, rope, etc. to get their perverse job done.

As for your second point, there is no need for me to mention every single memorializing resolution to make my point. I stated my opposition to the concept and it still stands.

Please tell me when did I, after posting my criticism of a supporting resolution, express support for another one??

The answer is that I did not.

Anonymous said...

the point is that there are knives that are illegal, they are knives that are meant to do nothing but harm people faster.Brass knuckles are illegal. I'll take my chances with them, so why are they illegal? maybe because they are meant for one thing...to hurt people. Your insinuation is that we now may need knife control...the fact is we have it. you clearly missed my point. I agree that I hate memorializing resolutions...from both sides. They are a waste of time and money. You wrote such a good post on the first put forward by the liberal Democrats in the legislature, I figured there had to be another when the republican response was put to a resolution. Nothing. Could it be that who puts them forward has bearing on whether you like them or not? I don't know. but it sure looks that way. By the way, I am no liberal. Just read your blog often for other views and interesting reading. Please don't get all high and lawyerly with your answer to this. regards

Anonymous said...

And don't forget saws........Just ask those at Home Depot. Background checks for saws, knives....do it for all:)

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

I got your point. I considered it misplaced.

I am only 5'8" tall so it is difficult for me to be "high" on anything.

Finally, as I said before, I made my point about memorializing resolutions. I do not see the need to keep repeating it every time another one surfaces.

Anonymous said...

No--and there also OUGHT to be free speech in small town Kingston, NY(and as we know, there is NOT)

Anonymous said...

Notice 14 wounded...not dead.

Andrew Champ-Doran said...

Mr. Cahill,

I take your point about the gun legislation, but I offer a couple of counterpoints.

First, this knife attack, while tragic, senseless, and criminal, resulted in NO deaths. The attacker had many direct hits, but wounded only 14 people, two of them critically. An attack with guns, with as many victims, would have turned out quite differently, both in death toll and tissue damage done.

Secondly, I have heard a great deal of this "ram through such legislation through the Assembly and Senate in the middle of the night" talk. Even though the Governor attached a Message of Necessity to the bill, there was no "ramming through". The hour of the vote hardly matters.

The Governor has no power to compel any member to vote one way or another. Any one of our State Senators or Assembly members could have voted against. The fact that over 70% of our legislators voted for the NY SAFE act speaks more to their actions and thoughts than it does the Governor's.

I agree with you on memorializing resolutions, and don't see the need to jump on one party or the other over the matter.

Andrew Champ-Doran
KingstonBarn.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

This is not the place for this comment, but I need to make it anyway. Maybe you can move it someplace it fits better.

After yesterday's attack in Boston, I hope the Republicans in Ulster County come to their senses and realize that their petty conflicts are worthless. It's time to stop. All of you.

Obviously, David O'Halloran pulled the Bernardos's IDA contract because he wanted Mike Hein's support for gambling at his hotel. Obviously, the Bernardos are going to win in court because their contract doesn't say they have to create jobs. Obviously, Terry Bernardo decided not to push for gambling in Kerhonkson because she's mad at O'Halloran. Obviously, O'Halloran is trying to run someone else for legislature because he's pissed off.

Get over yourselves. All of you. What the hell is wrong with you? Your going to wreck the Republican Party in Ulster because of your own interests. Your like a bunch of kindergarten kids. Grow the hell up.

Sit down with each other, drink a beer, shout it out and get over it. Do you three know how sick people are of your stupid behavior?

And that's without throwing the other three idiots into the mix. Yess, Dogar and Michailescu. All your doing is playing into their hands. Do you really want to help those morons?

Just grow up.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

Mr. Champ-Doran,

Yes, guns are more likely to cause fatal wounds than knives. A chain saw would have been just as deadly. Do we ban chain saws?

My point is that guns, knives, or even chainsaws are tools. Like any tools, they can be misused and cause injuries or fatalities. You can pass laws banning all of these things and anything else you can think of, but it will never stop a deranged or mentally unbalanced person from hurting or killing people. Dealing with mental illness is a better way to proceed. The problem is that that issues takes time, energy, and creative thinking. So, rather than do that, knee jerk politicians just decide to ban various tools or objects and not deal with the real substantive issue.

Governor Cuomo and the members of the Legislature that have no spine or willingness to stand up to the Governor pushed through the so-called SAFE ACT too quickly without allowing for proper debate or public input. There were substantial errors with the legislation and the idea was misplaced.

It is not just in the area of gun control where this takes place. The 2007 and 2013 amendments to the Workers' Compensation Law were also jammed through with little debate and there are substantial mistakes in those pieces of legislation.

Finally, the time does matter. Passing something in the dead of night should only be done in a state of emergency. The government's business should be done by light of day for all to see.

Anonymous said...

If America could get over the stigma attached to mental illness we might actually have individuals seeking help. These are the individuals in some instances that turn to guns to address their inner demons. Mental illness should be the same as a physical illness. If we are in pain we seek a medical Dr..to alleviate the discomfort. The brain or mind should be no difference. Current or proposed gun laws do not address the mental illness component. Couple that with no consistent gun dealer laws / regulations you have a disaster waiting to happen. We also need insurance companies to have more coverage for treatment for the mentally ill. In some diagnosis treatments can go for months but a mental illness treatment in some cases gets a certain number of days. Hardly adequate! It is time to have mental hospitals back to actually treat these individuals. Not lock them up with no treatment plan. By closing them we have now gone the other way. We released them with no support services. The Newtown shooter was one of many who should have been hospitalized. And the list grows......

Anonymous said...

Please go home and try to conceal a chainsaw. Also if you can throw chainsaws, knives, etc . at a rate of several hundred feet per second I would like you to pick up a ball and call the Steinbrenners because we need you.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

9:09,

Try to conceal a rifle. It is just as difficult.

Regardless, you are missing the point. Banning tools or devices solves NOTHING. If someone is willing to commit murder, do you really think such a person would think twice about a gun law?

Please do not waste my time or my readers' time claiming that gun laws will make it difficult to obtain guns. Cocaine has been illegal for over a hundred years. Yet, one can walk to any street corner in Midtown Kingston and get it.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

9:28,

Your points are well argued and largely correct.

Anonymous said...

I'm sick of the crap coming from Jon Dogar, his idiot wife and that emptyheaded Robin Yess. They need to be answered.

http://ulstersanity.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

So lets make cocain legal then. Ask Albany Law for a refund.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

7:13,

Your argument is juvenile and foolish. Also, it is spelled "cocaine" and it should not be made legal.