Posted on 12/18/2018 9:55:39 AM PST by Gamecock
NEW YORK (AP) — A 1974 New York state ban on nunchucks that was put into place over fears that youth inspired by martial arts movies would create widespread mayhem is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, a federal court has ruled.
Judge Pamela Chen issued her ruling Friday in a Brooklyn federal court on the martial arts weapon made famous by Bruce Lee.
The plaintiff, James Maloney, started his legal quest after being charged with possession of nunchucks in his home in 2000. He initially filed a complaint in 2003, and appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court when the case went against him. The Supreme Court in 2010 remanded the case back down to be reconsidered in light of a Second Amendment decision it had made in another case, and Maloney filed an amended complaint later that year.
Maloney had been focused on getting the part of the law overturned that banned nunchucks, two rigid rods connected at one end by a chain or rope, even in private homes.
In her ruling, Chen said the court couldn’t simply take that part out, and ruled that the state’s law as it pertained to possessing nunchuks as well as to manufacturing, transporting or disposing of them was in violation of the Second Amendment.
The ruling went over the history of the ban, and said it “arose out of a concern that, as a result of the rising popularity ‘of ‘Kung Fu’ movies and shows,′ ‘various circles of the state’s youth’ — including ‘muggers and street gangs’ — were ‘widely’ using nunchaku to cause ‘many serious injuries.’”
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
I don’t have nunchucks (nunchakus). I do have a pair of traditional Chinese rice flails, made for flogging the husks off of harvested rice.
Nunchucks are impressive when in the hands of an expert.
If you don’t really know your Nunchucks, you can easily knock your own teeth out, or maybe break a nose.
Now do Switchblades/ auto knives and “West Side Story”...
Another ridiculous law based on preventative “do something!!!” knee jerk reactions..
And what exactly are the stats of “wide spread” “nunchucks crimes” that validated the bans in the first place?
Darn it - I specifically came on this thread to say that 2nd sentence ..... sigh... you win first coup....
That ruling does remind us of an important fact.
The Second Amendment is about more than guns. It is about arms.
IMHO nunchuks are more dangerous to the idiots using them than to anyone else!
Always LOVED when some fool in high school would show me his ‘skills’ only to whack himself in the face!
i got to where i was pretty good with them- but yup- you can do some damage if not careful- you gotta really pay attention and think ahead-
I remember nunchucks becoming popular in the 60's or 70's when Bruce Lee movies seemed to have grabbed the youthful male (I may have my years wrong, but not my opinion)
I remember NEVER hearing of youths gone wild using them.
Basically any weapons suitable for service would be covered, including all common infantry arms (which at that time included any usable melee weapon, effectiveness in use being the main consideration) or archery weapons too (these had not fallen out of favor because they were inferior, a company of skilled longbowmen had they been available to the colonists could have seriously messed up a bunch of British regular routinely, but because they weren’t available being expensive, basically a lifelong profession of sorts, while muskets could be dropped into the hands of any poor sap who could then be drilled to stand there and be shot at as an expendable inexpensive soldier).
The concept of what is protected is related not to a time and place but the functionality of an arm for its time. I would go so far as to opine that a weapon that was utterly obsolete would have less 2nd Amendment protection than one that is cutting edge. Or, put another way, when “phasers” are a standard infantry Arm then “phasers” would be covered by the 2nd Amendment.
Next they’ll probably ban upchucks.
I believe the martial arts came about when the ancient Japanese invaders of Okinawa forced the people to give up their spears, swords and arrows.
Being helpless, they found ways to use common tools as weapons, this being the rice flail.
Hard to believe a common farming tool would strike terror into the hearts of NY authoritarians.
They seem to want us to go back to defending ourselves with those great old English farm weapons, the wooden pitch fork, hay rake, and garden hoe.
That ruling was made back in 1974, the year I graduated High School. Guess what my Cousin Jesse got me as a graduation gift? That’s right, a big bottle of Hai Karate Cologne, spray bottle. The TV commercials sold it as though it was an
Aphrodisiac. Sum Total; It was not .
“over fears that youth inspired by martial arts movies would create widespread mayhem is unconstitutional “
Bans on firearms using fears over widespread mayhem are also similarly unconstitutional.
That’s not a knife, THIS is a knife.
Okay New York kids, knock yourselves out.
“Aphrodisiac. Sum Total; It was not .”
Worked for me. Were you careful how you used it?
“Nunchucks are impressive when in the hands of an expert.
If you don’t really know your Nunchucks, you can easily knock your own teeth out, or maybe break a nose.”
I got to be pretty good with them. I wore my motorcycle helmet while practicing, especially when trying to master something new. Was very glad that I did a few times.
Knew a teen who used those bruises to call CPS on her parents and blame them.
Next week, be prepared to turn in your butter knives.
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