Huey Driver Loc: Texas

Take a minute and think. Just suppose the Uvalde shooter instead of using an AR-15 rifle as his chosen weapon, instead had used a sword. Now rather than shooting his victims he locks himself in that classroom and periodically and systematically decapitates children and teachers.

Do you suppose our citizens who today blame guns as the problem and demand more of what they call, common sense gun laws, would now be vocalizing for common sense sword control laws? I think not. But something like this might drive into their brains the fact that mental illness is the problem, not guns and not the sword, as they are only a tool used to carry out the shooters mission. Then: maybe we could begin working towards finding workable solutions to fixing the real problem mental illness; instead of subverting our efforts by blaming guns

Old Coot

Look at UK. Few guns sp not many shootings.
However, knives freely available. Fatal stabbings up.

Some will always find a way

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

How many fatal stabbing per capita in Britain compared to fatal shootings per capita in the US?

Just for a beginning, England has 1/4 the murders per capita as compared to the US.

It's much easier to defend against a knife attack than a bullet, because the knife requires physical proximity. Where there's a will there's an attempts, but that intent is far more effectively leveraged by a gun than a knife.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

Remember the creep that drove through the parade? I could see "Drive Throughs" spiking if they were actually able to confiscate guns.

srg

I wonder if the cops would have stormed in if they knew he was using a sword.

pendennis

Hardly. A person with a knife can close approximately 21 feet and stab or slash you before you can draw, aim, and fire, a weapon. I've done the drill, and got "stabbed" in the process.

Folks with knives don't need a lot of dexterity. They only need to get close to seriously hurt you. And you can't easily parry a thrust. A slashing attack, while it may cause non-fatal cuts, can seriously maim you even if you can partially parry the slash. Remember, the 9/11 terrorists were armed with utility knives, and they cut folks just to prove they were serious. An armed knife wielder will do the same with a kitchen knife, even if he/she cuts themselves in the process.

The Roman army of yore, used a short sword (Hispanicus Gladius) for stabbing only; and they conquered the known world using this tactic.

Yes, a bullet travels at 850fps+, but the bullet is narrowly focused in its path. A knife blade of 6", or more, can cut at up to 2/3 the blade length.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

The medics I have heard say that a bullet hole generally does much more damage than a stab wound. That aside, no swordsman can kill at a distance of 50 yards, or do anywhere near the same amount of damage in a given amount of time as a shooter with enough ammo. . In the 16th century the Japanese Shogun banned guns because the nobles thought it totally unfair that an untrained farmer with a gun could kill a samurai trained for years in kendo. It's a no-brainer that in the field soldiers with rifles will prevail over those with swords.

Huey Driver Loc: Texas

What the heck does this have to do with the article. I don't believe anyone is or was suggesting using a sword over a gun.

DennyT Loc: Central Missouri woods

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

pendennis

Not so sure about that. My son, a paramedic has seen both many times, and GS wounds tend to bleed less, making triage and initial treatment easier. Yes, surgeons have to go deeper to remove the round, but knife wounds tend to be more numerous, bleed profusely, and are a bitch to stem bleeding.

The ancients also had bows/arrows, and derivations thereof. 50 yards wasn't even a stretch for longbows. The Romans also had the pilum, and while it was relatively short-ranged, the damage it did to humans was devastating. The barbed point pierced the body, and couldn't be extracted without further injury.

In the military, ammunition is all full metal jacket; designed not to expand, so wounds tend to be through and through. Military handgun ammo is also FMJ. In civilian use, most pistol ammunition is hollow-point, expanding to about twice the diameter of the round. The wound channel created makes the 9mm/.38 calibers force multipliers, and those wounds are larger, but less penetrating. There are always trade-offs.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Tex-s

Not armed with swords they would not. The police and government, in their minds, must be more armed than those over whom they hold sway, whether the need for enforcement arise from mass violence, or worse, speech.