Remember that slippery slope of continual government regulation followed by overreach by always justifying “we just need to do a little more and then our plans will work” TTAG wrote about the other day? Well, if you don’t believe in it, just take a look at what’s playing out in the United Kingdom.

As knife crime surges in the U.K., the government has launched an amnesty and compensation scheme targeting “zombie-style” knives and machetes, urging citizens to turn in these newly banned weapons before facing potential legal repercussions. This initiative, which began last week and runs until September 23, 2024, marks the latest in a series of increasingly restrictive measures aimed at curbing violent crime in a country where the possession of firearms is already heavily regulated.

The move, spearheaded by the Home Office, adds these “zombie-style” weapons—often characterized by their aggressive appearance and association with fictionalized violence i.e., zombie movies like “The Walking Dead”—to the growing list of prohibited items in the U.K., including butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers. According to the government, these knives serve no legitimate purpose and are primarily used to intimidate or inflict harm. (Nice of them to decide for their citizens including collectors what is legitimate and what isn’t.)

This latest British policy is yet another example of an overreaching government stripping away individual rights under the guise of public safety. The idea that citizens are now being asked to surrender not just their firearms, but also their knives, seems to push the boundaries of what many Americans would readily consider reasonable.

Critics argue that such measures do little to address the root causes of violence and instead penalize law-abiding citizens who possess these items legally. The scheme allows for compensation if proof of purchase can be provided, with owners receiving up to £30 for three or more knives. However, those without receipts will receive a mere £10 per blade—a paltry sum that some suggest is more insulting than incentivizing.

Commander Stephen Clayman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) defended the move, stating, “Many of these ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes are clearly designed to intimidate and cause harm, rather than serve any practical purpose, so the ban will support us by significantly reducing their availability.” “Us” being the police and officials of course. Clayman didn’t even hide the government’s motives actually calling it a “scheme” even as he urged citizens “to do the right thing and surrender it.”

“To be clear, from September 24 you will be liable to arrest and prosecution if found with such a weapon. If you don’t wish to take part in or are not eligible for the compensation scheme you can surrender any knives or weapons at a suitable knife bin which are readily available across the country,” he told the Daily Mail. The scheme is, those who turn in a knife and have a receipt or proof of purchase to show evidence of the knife’s value, the will receive the full value of the blade. Of course, how many people keep receipts for everything they buy, and the government knows this. Lacking any proof of value, the government will pay those who turn in their knife a mere 10 pounds. But here’s the catch, you have to turn in at least three of them to get the compensation and then you only get paid 30 pounds. One knife, you don’t get anything. More than three knives, you still only get paid for three. “Scheme” is an understatement.

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson also urged the public to “do the right thing” to make streets safer, claiming that “too many people have access to weapons that can lead to devastating, life-changing consequences.” Yet, for those who value their right to self-defense, the notion that the government can dictate what tools one may or may not possess is indeed a slippery slope. But the “dame” made no pretense about this is where it ends.

“There is no legitimate need for a weapon of this kind to be in our homes or on our streets,” she told the Daily Mail. “That is why we will continue to make sure the tightest restrictions are in place to limit the availability of these lethal weapons. Implementing a ban on zombie-style knives is just the first step in our ambitious, dedicated plan to halve knife crime within a decade, and will closely be followed by making ninja swords illegal. It is absolutely crucial that members of the public come forward and safely hand in these weapons.”

“Scheme,” “first step,” “our ambitious, dedicated plan” to disarm and ruthlessly rule the British subjects is more like it. It is “absolutely crucial” that subjects “safely hand in these weapons,” or is it absolutely crucial that leaders over there quite stomping on the human rights of their citizens and enforce criminal laws such as murder, assault, rape and more to protect them from crime rates that have steadily risen since severe gun restrictions were posed on the citizenry in the late 1990s. In fact, gun control in a number of English countries has been an epic fail and in the U.K. in particular, because guns aren’t as readily available, knife crimes have soared. Criminals aren’t going to stop committing crimes, they will simply use whatever tool is at hand. Innocent victims will continue to be, well, victims, because they will follow the law and have no way to protect themselves.

The specter of “knife control” following the near-total ban on guns in the U.K. serves as a cautionary tale for Americans who worry that similar policies could one day cross the Atlantic. If the British government can justify the confiscation of knives today, what might they seek to outlaw tomorrow? And if such policies are enacted in the United States, where could that eventually lead for our citizens? I think the answer from all this is clear.