Knife Crime- Who Cares?

Anyone who lives in the Inverclyde area will know that we have a knife problem. A problem with victims, and offenders. We all live in a culture of the acceptability of young people especially carrying a knife, for so called 'protection'. Really it's to look good with their friends and peers, and look cool! It has to change to allow us all to live in a non threatening society.

Last month, the Scottish Government had a vote. To vote for, or against, the 'presumption of a 6 month automatic jail term for carrying a knife'. So far, so good. Bearing in mind the terrible record our area has with knife carrying, you would think that our MSPs would know where to cast their vote. After all, there have been many campaigns by the parents of folks who have lost a child's life to the abuse of a knife. The parliament vote was lost by 2 votes. Guess what? The same two votes were cast 'against' by 2 of our own MSPs. The same MSPs who paid lip service to the campaign to bring in the new law, and who told the families that they cared about their plight and grief. 

I saw the reasons both the SNP and Lib Dem MSPs gave for not supporting the bill, and it almost seemed that they were using the same words, from the same press agent. These enemies were singing in unison. I hate it when a personal campaign, and family grief is hijacked by politics. This was a political manoeuvre and is deplorable. I think they are hoping we will forget it before the MSP elections in 2012. Not likely! These families and our area deserved better. They needed and deserved the support of their elected representatives, and were denied it. The postman delivered a nice glossy political flyer from the Lib Dem candidate yesterday. It covered a lot of local issues where the MSP had been busy, but there was not one word about crime, and knife crime in particular. How sad that our elected representative thinks the electorate are stupid, and cannot see the obvious. He couldn't put it on his flyer, because he had nothing to say on the matter. Perhaps saving the hospital tea bar was more important than saving young knife victims.

To state the very obvious, had these 2 MSPs voted FOR the motion, the law would have carried. These 2 Inverclyde MSPs are the sole reason the knife crime statistics will remain the same in our area for years to come. Sand dancing round the issue, and making it a political football did nothing for their reputation, and integrity. 2012 is coming!