Nunchucks Are Banned in California...Except in Martial Arts Schools

[PizDoff]

Nunchucks Are Banned in California...Except in Martial Arts Schools, Where They're All the Rage



To the uninitiated, the list of illegal weapons in the summary booklet of California Firearms Laws might be mistaken for an algebra text. Full of unintelligible strings of letters and numbers -- MAS 223, HK-PSG-1, Encom MP-9 -- and obscure terms (thumbhole stock, flash suppressor, center fire, forward pistol grip) the booklet also contains specific definitions for illegal items: A short-barreled shotgun is one with a barrel of less than 18 inches. A short-barreled rifle has a barrel of less than 16 inches. A large-capacity magazine is one that can accept more than 10 rounds.

All of it evokes the militaristic, menacing world of weaponry: sophisticated, technical, deadly. Until you get to the section defines the term nunchaku -- basically, two sticks on a rope.

In California, possession of an AR-15 -- the same gun that James Holmes used to shoot up a Batman premiere in Aurora, Colo. -- is legal, provided it was bought and registered prior to 2000. Possession of nunchaku, or nunchucks, however, is a felony -- no matter when they were purchased.

The nunchucks ban was added to the California penal code in 1974, at a moment when the United States was in the kung-fu grip of a martial arts craze. Sparked by the 1973 release of Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon and spurred by such pop phenomena as the TV series Kung Fu and the song "Kung Fu Fighting," martial arts fever was spiking, along with a faddish interest in martial arts weapons.

Menaced by the trend, Newsweek published a sensational article on nunchucks, called "Killing Sticks." The article's alarm bells prompted lawmakers around the country to contemplate bans, but only New York, Massachusetts, Arizona and California followed through, with then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signing California's bill into law.

Rest of article at http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2012/...rts_karate.php

Yes, nunchaku is more dangerous than a regular stick.

But seriously, imagine getting beaten to death with sausage links.

[battlefields]

Sounds perfectly rational, should be representative of a source of pride in your lawmakers.

[Permalost]

What the crap is that 8 section nunchaku that guy's holding?

Yeah, I think its kind of a bummer that so many martial arts weapons are illegal here. Partly because I like the idea of 70s kung fu brawls going down, and partly because I think I'd be safer with thugs walking around with nunchucks instead of guns.

Sounds perfectly rational, should be representative of a source of pride in your lawmakers.

Coincidentally, I'm gonna have to ask a cop I train with if a tire thumper I acquired is legal or not.

[Arise]

This law makes no sense at all. When was the last time some one robbed a bank with nunchakus? Yet they are banned. Meanwhile, guns are totally legal. Just dont get caught with two sticks connected by a rope. You can get arrested. Its just ridiculous.

[Vorpal]

What the crap is that 8 section nunchaku that guy's holding?

Jump Rope of Death

[Bneterasedmynam]

Sometimes I wonder if the people of California literally ass-**** the comon sense out of each other. I seem to remember a law they proposed that would force people to cut down trees so they wouldn't obstruct solar cells in the name of saving the environment. I'm surprised California hasn't banned tkd for being dangerous.

[Diesel_tke]

I have no problem with the nunchaku being illegal. One, because I live in Florida. Two, because I have some and have hit my bag with them. The most dengerous thing about it was the stick bouncing back toward me after the strike. And three, because sticks are better for fighting than nunchaku, so who gives a damn.

However, that nunchaku jump rope is cool! Also, has anyone seen all of the online nunchaku competitions? If they were legal in Cali, there is no telling how far the nunchaku craze could escilate.

[Bneterasedmynam]

So I'm a little confused here are they just illegal to carry, or illegal to own??

[Rivington]

Unfortunately, we are still being terrorized by people making that "Wah! Wah! Wataaaah!" sound whenever they see nunchucks. Solve THAT problem, California lawmakers, and then maybe I'll register to vote!

[money]

This law makes no sense at all. When was the last time some one robbed a bank with nunchakus? Yet they are banned.

So the law is working, is that what you are saying?