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> British retailers are now talking about licensing the purchase of sulfuric acid.

Banning or controlling something that could be used as a weapon is not the solution. As has been already demonstrated by controlling firearms and knives, criminals will just find an alternative.

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"Better apply for a gun licence and do my 3 weeks of training before I hold up that petrol station." - Said no one ever.

Really? I think making guns extremely hard to get has been pretty good for NYC.

Guns aren't a major industrial commodity chemical with hundreds if not thousands of valid non-violent civil uses, however...

I'd be more inclined to blame the reduction in violent crime in NYC on it's staggering large and well-equipped police force. If a criminal really wanted a gun in NYC, they probably aren't going to obtain one legally so making them harder to get only creates a minor inconvenience.

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