"People who own ninja swords are being urged to hand them into police stations across West Yorkshire as part of month-long amnesty.
"Running from 1 to 31 July, the scheme aims to help take the deadly weapons off the streets before new legislation banning them comes into force.
"People who legally own a ninja sword can surrender them at one of five police stations in the county and in some cases may be able to claim compensation."
I do not doubt the article's claim that ninja swords are used in criminal attacks. Odd they did not list any, however.
For Americans, are these protected by the Second Amendment? Under the self-defense understanding articulated in Heller, yes. But under the Insurrection understanding articulated by the Framers? Probably not. Knives make sense for self-defense: I am not persuaded they have a value for overthrowing a tyrannical government, unless it is also limited to contact weapons. Feel free to construct your alternate reality world where the American government relies on swordsmen to impose its will on us.
You mean, like Jedi?
ReplyDeleteIn an age where reloading a gun could easily take close to a minute and would be easy to interrupt, a sword would have significant practical utility in a close-quarters fight.
ReplyDeleteThe military still issues swords, but they're generally recognized as ceremonial these days. When did the Navy stop training sailors how to use a cutlass?