Frankly Speaking

A teenage boy walked into the local police station in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima prefecture Saturday carrying his mother's head. He then led the officer's to his home, where he pointed out his mother's decapitated corpse laying on a futon, and said, "There it is."

He told police he beheaded his mother on the eve of her 47th birthday while she slept, and added, "It didn't matter who I killed," Kyodo reported. Police confirmed the arrest.

Japan, who you will remember has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, is experiencing a rise in dismemberments.

While dismemberment crimes are not unique to Japan, experts say such cases are on the rise as Japan grapples with the fallout of a decade of economic malaise. Alienation and a trend toward objectifying fellow humans is also fueling the violence.

So let me get this straight, in an effort to protect its citizens, Japan all but outlawed firearms. But now instead of shooting each other, the Japanese are increasingly dismembering each other.

Read the full article for several other recent incidents of dismemberment. It's really quite disturbing and is yet one more little piece of anecdotal evidence to prove my point; people will kill each other, with or without guns. However, people with guns are much better able to protect themselves.

So, if we are going to react to these killings the same was we respond to shootings in America, here are the steps that should be taken.

1. There should be an immediate call to outlaw any and all "assault knives". I mean, sure, we all need butter knives, but who really needs a sword at home? Come on, what can you hunt with one of these? These types of weapons should be reserved for the military and local police, who are trained in their proper use. Allowing civilians to own swords is just asking for trouble.


2. Do not overlook the lethality of small knives and daggars. These "hand-swords" or "Saturday Night Specials" can be easily concealed in your sleeve, or in an ankle sheath. And don't even get us started on throwing knives. How can you feel safe knowing there are people all around you who may be carrying these small, high capacity sheathes? It takes very little practice to become lethal with these, and think of all the children who will see how "cool" it is to throw knives and may inadvertently harm themselves, their siblings or friends. How many innocent lives can be saved by outlawing throwing knives or by requiring locking sheathes for existing throwing knife owners?


3. There should be background checks for all new knife purchases along with a 30 day waiting period before being allowed to take home one of these heinous weapons. We don't want someone rushing out in a fit of rage to buy a sword which will just end up hacking off the head of someone's mother or wife. Given the proper time to cool off, along with adequate time for law enforcement to ensure that only law abiding citizens have access to these weapons, the dismemberment rate should decrease dramatically over the next few years.


4. Several schools should hold "mock dismemberments" to teach the children what to do should they ever be attacked by one of these knife wielding maniacs. But don't let the parents know it's coming, because they may be those whacko religious types who don't understand the value of education by terror. Make sure you have someone burst into the classroom waving around one of these swords while claiming to be Christians who are upset at the amount of Buddhism being displayed in the school.


5. There should be an outright ban on chain saws, circular saws, reciprocating saws, electric knifes, or other such "automatic" knives. None of these perform a function that cannot be done with a properly licensed hand saw or hack saw.

Labels: biting sarcasm, gun control