Banning Assault Knives They outlawed real firearms, then even air guns and toys that look like guns. But gun crimes keep happening in Great Britain, and the crime rate there is rising. Now, doctors in the United Kingdom are calling for an outright ban on the ownership of kitchen utensils because knives are the nation's "weapon of choice" for murder and mayhem. But for right now, they're only asking for the sharp ones that are long and pointy to be illegal. Seriously. A BBC story on the organization's Web site reports the West Middlesex University hospital's findings published in the British Medical Journal: "The researchers said there was no reason for long pointed knives to be publicly available at all." A gruesome close-up of stitches on a man's sliced ear dutifully illustrates the story along with a picture of the "weapon of choice" kitchen utility knife with the caption, "Doctors say knives are too pointed." The BBC knowingly cautions skeptical readers that "the study found links between easy access to domestic knives and violent assault are long established."