Several retail stores in New Zealand have banned knives and scissors from their shelves after a knife attack left several people injured. A Sri Lankan refugee is responsible for the attack. Six people were stabbed before police intervened by shooting and killing the attacker. All of this happened at Countdown Supermarket in Auckland. That store was the first to announce the knife ban and other stores followed their lead. Countdown says the ban is temporary but there is a question if they will ever sell sharp instruments again.
The idea of “banning knives” is often punted around as a joke in the United States. Most people scoff at such a preposterous idea. Even those who support gun control don’t really support “knife” control. Nearly every restaurant in the United States that doesn’t hand customers food in a plastic or paper bag gives knives to customers for the purposes of cutting food. Very sharp knives are advertised on television and sold without any weird age restriction. Banning knives (and scissors) just seems like a thing that could never happen. But here we are.
The obvious problem here is the Sri Lankan refugee who carried out this violent and apparently random stabbing attack. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” while attacking people. This is obviously a case of Islamic extremism. That conclusion does not just come from the Islamic “battle cry” the attacker belted out during his rampage. New Zealand authorities had been watching him for a long time. His refugee paperwork was questionable, possibly totally phony. He was a known potential terrorist with possible links to ISIS. There was even an attempt to deport the man to no avail.
A knife ban is something that would probably never happen in the United States. But there are other things that happen in New Zealand (and Australia) that wouldn’t fly here in the states. At least, not yet. An example is how the entire country of New Zealand shut down after one case of the virus. Then there is the strict gun control that even came with gun confiscation in Australia back in 1996. The first and second amendments of the United States Constitution are heavily coveted all over the world – even by other first-world nations. They should not be taken for granted or allowed to slip away to become a thing of the past.
SOURCES:
Temporary ‘knife control’ in New Zealand after stabbing | One America News Network
Knives taken off supermarket shelves in New Zealand after terrorist attack | TheHill
New Zealand Knife Attack Speeds Overhaul of Counterterrorism Laws – WSJ
After Stabbing Attack, New Zealand Examines Its Antiterrorism Efforts – The New York Times
New Zealand mall stabbing “ISIS-inspired terrorist attack” in Auckland – Axios
New Zealand Police Kill A Man After He Stabs 6 People At A Supermarket : NPR
New Zealand tried to deport attacker for years after he arrived as refugee | Reuters
White supremacy still plagues New Zealand, PM Jacinda Ardern says | News | DW | 13.03.2020
NZ’s Ardern apologises as report into mosque attack faults focus on Islamist terror risks | Reuters
New Zealand Locks Down after One COVID-19 Case | Voice of America – English
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