Jimbo 0 #1 March 12, 2004 It's really kind of amusing when you think about it. QuoteNew law to ban swords Peter Mickelburough, state politics reporter 09mar04 SWORDS will be outlawed from July under new laws to curb the growing use of the weapons in street brawls. Police Minister Andre Haermeyer said the ban would help police overcome a culture of young people arming themselves with swords. "For most people running around the street carrying swords there is absolutely no reason for them to be carrying those weapons," he said yesterday. From July, anyone found possessing or selling a sword without a permit will face up to six months' jail and fines of up to $12,000. Existing sword owners must surrender their weapons to police, sell them to a licensed dealer or apply to the Chief Commissioner for specific approval. Collectors and people with legitimate cultural, religious or military reasons to own swords will be exempted from the ban, but must store them under lock and key and have a burglar alarm. The sword ban follows a string of recent attacks and a regulatory impact statement undertaken by the State Government last year. Last week, a 13-year-old boy was arrested and charged after allegedly charging police with a sword near Castlemaine, in central Victoria. A 21-year-old man had his hand severed by a samurai sword in a confrontation between 40 men in the Fitzroy Gardens a fortnight ago -- the second brawl involving swords in 24 hours. Huy Huynh, 19, was chased from the Salt nightclub and hacked to death nearby in July 2002 by a mob using samurai swords and machetes. The new laws will make it illegal to sell swords to anyone who does not have a permit. Sword sellers will have to keep a register of buyers' details and make it available for police to inspect. Mr Haermeyer said groups such as highland dancers, historic re-enactment groups, bonafide collectors and people with family heirlooms could apply for an exemption from the licensing services branch of Victoria Police. "Legitimate sword owners understand the importance of ensuring that their swords do not fall into the wrong hands," he said. "The vast majority of the community would say, 'Look, there's no place for people just being able to go out there and buy these things and carry them around the street'." Mr Haermeyer said the exact definition of a sword under the new regulations was still being considered. He said machetes would remain a controlled weapon, requiring a person to have a legitimate reason for carrying them. The Government is also looking at bans on some other weapons, such as crossbows, and greater restriction on the sale of prohibited and regulated weapons at weekend markets. Mr Haermeyer warned that police would be actively hunting for knives and swords after being given new powers and 480 metal detectors late last year, allowing them to search people they reasonably suspected were carrying weapons. Source - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #2 March 12, 2004 LOL ... I can't believe I'm going to say this, but when are they going to ban pens and pencils in the schools? They can be used as weapons right? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #3 March 12, 2004 I believe that's scheduled for 1st quarter/2005. - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FunBobby 0 #4 March 12, 2004 Well, with incidents like this I can see why folks think swords shouldn't be in untrained hands. FunBobby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenister 0 #5 March 13, 2004 fuck canada!! you think i'm pyscho about my guns just try to take my swords...i have nearly 15K in antique swords and knives....and have been training with them all my life... of course i live for the day some ignorant street thug threatens me with a sword..... even if i dont have one of my own..wouldnt be long before i had his...____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,090 #6 March 13, 2004 >of course i live for the day some ignorant street thug threatens me with a sword..... Seargeant: Now, self-defence. Tonight I shall be carrying on from where we got to last week when I was showing you how to defend yourselves against anyone who attacks you with armed with a piece of fresh fruit. Palin: Oh, you promised you wouldn't do fruit this week. Sgt.: What do you mean? Jones: We've done fruit the last nine weeks. Sgt.: What's wrong with fruit? You think you know it all, eh? Palin: Can't we do something else? Idle: Like someone who attacks you with a pointed stick? Sgt.: Pointed stick? Oh, oh, oh. We want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we? Getting all high and mighty, eh? Fresh fruit not good enough for you eh? Well I'll tell you something my lad. When you're walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of loganberries, don't come crying to me! Now, the passion fruit. When your assailant lunges at you with a passion fruit... All: We done the passion fruit. Sgt.: What? Chapman: We done the passion fruit. Palin: We done oranges, apples, grapefruit... Jones: Whole and segments. Palin: Pomegranates, greengages... Chapman: Grapes, passion fruit... Palin: Lemons... Jones: Plums... Chapman: Mangoes in syrup... Sgt.: How about cherries? All: We did them. Sgt.: Red and black? All: Yes! Sgt.: All right, bananas. (All sigh.) Sgt.: We haven't done them, have we? Right. Bananas. How to defend yourself against a man armed with a banana. Now you, come at me with this banana. Catch! Now, it's quite simple to defend yourself against a man armed with a banana. First of all you force him to drop the banana; then, second, you eat the banana, thus disarming him. You have now rendered him 'elpless. Palin: Suppose he's got a bunch. Sgt.: Shut up. Idle: Suppose he's got a pointed stick. Sgt.: Shut up. Right now you, Mr Apricot. Chapman: 'Arrison. Sgt.: Sorry, Mr. 'Arrison. Come at me with that banana. Hold it like that, that's it. Now attack me with it. Come on! Come on! Come at me! Come at me then! (Shoots him.) Chapman: Aaagh! (dies.) Sgt.: Now, I eat the banana. (Does so.) Palin: You shot him! Jones: He's dead! Idle: He's completely dead! Sgt.: I have now eaten the banana. The deceased, Mr Apricot, is now 'elpless. Palin: You shot him. You shot him dead. Sgt.: Well, he was attacking me with a banana. Jones: But you told him to. Sgt.: Look, I'm only doing me job. I have to show you how to defend yourselves against fresh fruit. Idle: And pointed sticks. Sgt.: Shut up. Palin: Suppose I'm attacked by a man with a banana and I haven't got a gun? Sgt.: Run for it. Jones: You could stand and scream for help. Sgt.: Yeah, you try that with a pineapple down your windpipe. Jones: A pineapple? Sgt.: Where? Where? Jones: No I just said: a pineapple. Sgt.: Oh. Phew. I thought my number was on that one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoadRash 0 #7 March 13, 2004 I studied kendo for 2 1/2 years...in another eight, I get to work with a katana... (no, not the canopy...) ~R+R~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #8 March 13, 2004 why am I willing to bet you did that all from memory? JumpScars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newsstand 0 #9 March 13, 2004 From a Society For Creative Anachronism list that I am on. "Actually, Texas Penal Code Chpt 42 lists swords as an illegal weapon, PC 46.02 Unlawful Carrying Weapon includes swords but there is a traveling (which is a very specific to and from defense) and a 'sporting activity' /theatrical defense that can get you off the hook for it, but if you get a cop that is very suspicious and you accidently left it in your car from a weekend event and it is Wednesday...or if you get pulled over in Williamson Co, you might get a free trip to jail...I've seen it happen to people with a 3 inch throwing daggers(two sided blades in illegal weapon category)for karate demos. So watch yourself and use common sense please. " "Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenister 0 #10 March 13, 2004 QuoteI studied kendo for 2 1/2 years...in another eight, I get to work with a katana... (no, not the canopy...) ~R+R yeeks....try to find a kenjitsu or iaido dojo..they are few and far between, but there are also private practitioners willing to teach.....most kendokai learn to 'play tag' instead of learning to cut...and they wont make you wait 10 years to learn to handle live steel.... note the most... not all Bill you've hit apon one of my favorite python skits ever......____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #11 March 14, 2004 QuoteNew law to ban swords Darn right they ought to be banned. Swords are created for just one purpose: to kill. Those that collect and practice with them, are just doing so to kill. No one needs to own a sword in today's society. Swords are a deadly anachronism that have no place in modern society. Sure it will hurt re-enactors and history buffs, but it's a small price to pay to rid the nation of this deadly scourge. We don't need to live with the culture of death that swords create. If it will save just one life, it will be worth it. Ban 'em all! (Yes, that is sarcasm, borrowing logic from the gun-banners.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefallfreak 0 #12 March 14, 2004 ROFLMAO!!! FFF "Upon seeing the shadow of a pigeon, one must resist the urge to look up." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tink1717 2 #13 March 14, 2004 Yep, and as long as there are idiots like that, I'll never be without a job.Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swilson 0 #14 March 14, 2004 Quote fuck canada!! Zenister, could you please explain what Canada has to do with this? Castlemaine, Central Victoria and Fitzroy Gardens, the places mentioned in the original post, are both located in Austrailia. I fail to see how or where we Canadians are implicated in this... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GrumpySmurf 0 #15 March 14, 2004 Heh. I was wondering who was going to point this out first - that it's the land down under, not the one up north. The Auzzie situation has been a constant topic of discussion for the sword collecting community for the last while, if you don't like the laws, either elect officals who agree with you, run for office, or move out. I think the lock and key thing a little silly, if you don't have kids, that is - since the Bujin sword bags do a wonderful job for transport, and a shinken does no good if you can't display on a proper katana-kake. That ad on QVC always cracks me up - a really good example on why 440 stainless steel blades from Taiwan are a real bad investment for anything other than wall hangers. Iaido dojo are not too hard find (though I guess compared with the psuedo sword arts in kendo and aikido, they could be considered hard to find) - if one looks hard enough - more a matter of being willing to drive a fair distance. If one is set on learning to handle live steel - variants of Toyama Ryu Batto can be found scattered across the country, along with Obata Sensei's Shinkendo. Then of course there are the more traditional iai instructors who feel you can train with live steel from day 1, if you want - I suspect the logic is that the only way to truely respect the blade (and thus your practice) is to cut yourself a few times - so long as you don't get blood all over the mat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AirMail 0 #16 March 14, 2004 If we're going to ban swords, we should also ban sharp sticks. In a dark alley, a sharp stick could be mistaken for a sword. P--- It's never too late to have a happy childhood. Postal Rodriguez, Muff 3342 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenister 0 #17 March 15, 2004 QuoteQuote fuck canada!! Zenister, could you please explain what Canada has to do with this? Castlemaine, Central Victoria and Fitzroy Gardens, the places mentioned in the original post, are both located in Austrailia. I fail to see how or where we Canadians are implicated in this... whoops...pardon my drunken ignorance ....this one just hit a soft spot and to think that was one of the countries i was seriously considering moving too...oh well...____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #18 March 15, 2004 QuoteIf we're going to ban swords, we should also ban sharp sticks. In a dark alley, a sharp stick could be mistaken for a sword. P- And forks, too! One handle, four swords! Forks are modern assault swords! - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #19 March 15, 2004 What about a spork? You could really fuck someone up with a spork!--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #20 March 15, 2004 QuoteAnd forks, too! One handle, four swords! Forks are modern assault swords! ROFLMAO....thank God I wasn't drinking anything... I swear, when I first read the article, I thought it was from the Onion. I'm thinking ladies' razors, rocks, and bobby pins are next. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #21 March 15, 2004 QuoteI swear, when I first read the article, I thought it was from the Onion. It's a shame that it wasn't. - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luv2Fall 0 #22 March 15, 2004 I put Ivory grips on my spork.......looking for a concealed holster now...............it's a beauty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goose491 0 #23 March 15, 2004 Wow. Well. They can have my swords... any one of 'em... when they pry 'em from my cold, dead hands! My Karma ran over my Dogma!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #24 March 15, 2004 I wonder if this would affect traditional chinese weapons as used in Northern Chinese Martial arts such as Jow Ga? Or is learning an art also going to be banned? Baseball bats, pens, etc are next. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beowulf 1 #25 March 15, 2004 I am waiting for the lawyers to sue the sword manufacturors. It's gotta be their fault that people are using the swords. Right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
