NYS ban on nunchucku ruled unconstitutional

[JR 137]

A judge has finally used common sense and ruled that the NYS ban on nunchucku is unconstitutional under the 2nd amendment. I’d say more, but the article puts it far better than I ever could. As a side note, I admire the the plaintiff’s zeal. Spending the time, energy, and money on something like that isn’t something I’d be up for for something as relatively trivial as nunchucku.

I wonder what precedent this will set with other banned weapons such as butterfly knives, switchblades, brass knuckles or batons? Common sense would tell you a butterfly knife or switchblade is no different than a traditional knife. Legal things such as baseball bats and golf clubs would easily do more damage to an individual and more damage to a crowd of people than brass knuckles or batons would.

The judge also speaks of the history of the ban and how it’s just not justifiable.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/nyregion/nunchuks-ban-overturned-new-york.amp.html

Edit: this was a federal judge. I wonder what happens in California, Arizona and Massachusetts who also have a state nunchucku ban. I’m assuming someone has to get arrested and/or denied sale wholesale of them in those states, then cite the ruling?

[aurik]

One could (very effectively) argue that no inherently hand-to-hand or weapon of limited range, such as martial arts weapons, can be considered more dangerous or deadly than a handgun. If you look at any statistic, vastly more people are injured or killed by handguns than by every single hand-to-hand weapon put together.

YET the Supreme Court ruled in DC vs Heller that the second amendment to the constitution gives an individual a right to bear arms, and requires that states and municipalities provide law-abiding citizens with means to lawfully own handguns. How, then can a federal judge rule that any hand-to-hand weapon should be outright banned when there must be a legal means for a citizen to own a handgun?

[Fat Cobra]

A lot of these bans were created because of media sensationalism of said weapons. For instance, nunchaku were banned in New York state in the 1970s, at the height of the Bruce Lee movie era. People's perception, and fear, of the effectiveness of nunchaku were blown way out of proportion which caused the ban. Now, it does appear silly to think that people are running around causing mass terror with nunchaku.

The other dynamic in place, which is strictly a New York-ism, is that all of these weapons bans come from New York City. The view there usually does not match the rest of New York State. Unfortunately, since over half the population of the state lives in the City, instead of making it a city ordnance that only affects the City, these types of things usually become a state law.

I am happy about the ruling, but I know the state will spend (waste) lots of money trying to fight it.

[JR 137]

The population of NYC, Long Island and Westchester county is approximately 17 million and some change. That’s pretty much the entire Metro NYC area. The total population of New York State is 19.5 million. So the rest of NYS or “upstate New York is about 2.5 million, with a little over a million in the Albany region.

Yeah, the NYC area runs the show. New York is the oddest place in a way - everyone wants to be left alone and do what they want. Yet, they want to tell everyone else what to do. So much so that they’ve got to push laws and regulations for everything. I’ve never been able to comprehend this. Outside of metro NYC and in some ways Albany, the rest of NY is completely different.

The weapons that are banned are just ludicrous.

Nunchucku? Seriously?

Why ban a switchblade or “butterfly” knife when the blade length of a folding or fixed blade knife of the same length is perfectly legal to carry? Complete nonsense. The only reason is the same as why nunchucku were banned - fear and sensationalism. Criminals in movies flick switchblades and ninjas and other criminals do the crazy butterfly knife show when wielding it. Using common sense, a fixed blade knife would be quicker and more practical for a criminal.

Brass knuckles? A baseball bat would be far more dangerous. See movies for the ban.

Collapsible batons? No clue why.

Genuinely bad people like gang members and muggers are carrying illegal guns. Far less so knives. These people don’t care about the laws, so if they thought nunchucku, batons and brass knuckles were great weapons, they’d carry them. They’re not not carrying them because they’re banned and hard to find; they’re not carrying them because they’re not practical for them. Yet they’re banned because criminals will use them. Sure, that’s logical.