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Scouts No Longer Allowed To Have Knives On Camping Trips 28

Scouts in the UK are no longer allowed to bring penknives on camping trips because they have been deemed too dangerous. Traditionally scouts have learned knife safety skills, using them to cut firewood or make tools. Dave Budd, a knife-maker who runs courses training Scouts about the safe use of blades wrote, "Sadly, there is now confusion about when a Scout is allowed to carry a knife. The series of high-profile fatal stabbings [has] highlighted a growing knife culture in the UK. I think it is safest to assume that knives of any sort should not be carried by anybody to a Scout meeting or camp, unless there is likely to be a specific need for one. In that case, they should be kept by the Scout leaders and handed out as required." There is no doubt that soon scouts will get rid of their tents for large sound-proof lucite containers, which will be able to protect the children from the horrors of campfire embers, bug bites and foul language.

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Scouts No Longer Allowed To Have Knives On Camping Trips

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  • Scouts not allowed to carry knives. What next? Pointed sticks? Bananas? Cherries (black and red)? If the UK now bans all knives, what will they do when the street thugs start beating people to death with their fists? Cut off hands? At some point one would think they need address the underlying problem, and not the inanimate objects used to express it.
    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It started long ago. When I was in the scouts we had firearm safety lessons. We learned how to make slingshots. We each had pocket knives. I'll still teach my kid how to use those things, but it's a different experience learning alongside other kids your age.

  • Wouldn't it make more scence to instead of banning knives teach first aid and self defence? That way when the thuggie teenager comes at the boy scout (Who doesn't have a knife because little Willy Whinealot is afraid of them) he will be able to defend himself?
  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 08, 2009 @11:49PM (#29361613)

    http://scouts.org.uk/news/223/scouting-refutes-knife-ban-claims

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Nutria ( 679911 )

      Did you actually read the article, and the linked PDF file?

      From http://scouts.org.uk/documents/News/080909/Pages%20from%20scouting.pdf [scouts.org.uk]

      Knives should be carried to and
      from meetings by an adult.
      Knives should be stowed in the
      middle of a bag/rucksack
      when transporting.
      Knives should be stored away until there is
      a need for them to be used.
      Campsites are considered public places (when
      used for a camp) and so knives are not to be carried.

      As bad as the US is, Britain has not just "crossed the l

One man's constant is another man's variable. -- A.J. Perlis

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