Can it be considered a weapon? Ban it!

According to the government, there is only one way to keep people safe anymore and that's to ban anything that could be used as weapon.

Guns 
Kitchen Knives
Baseball Bats
Frozen Poultry ...
But we eat poultry, and baseball bats are not dangerous, at least according to a local judge, who recently let a suspect off after a brutal beating because a baseball bat is not an "inherently dangerous weapon."

What does it mean to be inherent? "an inseparable element, quality, or attribute."

So what if baseball bats weren't created to hurt people, they still have that potential. They're dangerous and we all know it, it doesn't matter that they were made to hit a ball in order to play a game. They kill, so let's call them what they are: weapons, and let's ban them.

The U.K. is already working on banning long kitchen knives to reduce the number of stabbings. What a great idea, because we all know that without long kitchen knifes, guns and baseball bats nobody will think to kill or injure anyone!

But what about frozen poultry? Wait, we've already got a law against that one, no assaults with frozen poultry, but since the government knows they're dangerous, why aren't they illegal to purchase? I can still buy poultry without ID ... maybe they're working on it.

Toys have been outlawed for being used as weapons, but what about books and toilet paper? What about toothbrushes - an easily sharpened instrument that can substitute for a knife? It happens all the time in prison ... and yes, people have found ways to make knives from toilet paper too. So where do we stop?

My guess: we stop when we no longer have freedom.

But we've got to do something, people exclaim. We've got to protect the innocent and make it harder for criminals to attack. I agree, but disarming honest people and putting a ban on anything sharp won't do it. I promise.

I recently read a blog post by Robison Wells about mental health and how it's being ignored. READ IT! It's great and I'm grateful to Robison for being so forthright in the post.

I believe there are huge problems in the way we handle mental health issues, but I believe there's more.

The family is being attacked, morals are declining, belief in God is fading. Violent movies and games are the norm ...

But that doesn't matter, people say. Violence in entertainment is just that - entertainment. Okay, but consider this:

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." -Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism
I'm not Buddhist, but I love this quote and I agree with it wholeheartedly. So, if it's correct, what's really causing all the mass killings? Could it possibly be the easy access we have to weapons? Could it be that if we simply remove them from reach that the violence will end? They do that in prisons every single day and the assaults and killings continue behind those bars. If people are dwelling on violence, if they're focused on their anger and frustrations, they will eventually let that out, whether they use a baseball bat, a frozen turkey or their bare hands. 
Thoughts trigger actions, not the things around us. 
It's up to each of us to strive for a better future by creating it any way we're able, and by allowing those who choose to defend and protect their families the opportunity to do just that. Because with each ban, we lose a little more freedom. We become subject to harsher government laws when we should be living a higher law.

If you agree with the post, please check out my latest novel, inDIVISIBLE, a dystopian that pursues a search for freedom.