Hmmm. I'm going to point out some problems with the standard line, and make a suggestion.
1. Correlation is not causation. That got drummed into me in grad school. For instance, I'd guess that Washington DC has the most restrictive gun laws possibly because it has a lot of shootings, not the other way 'round. Of course, not every place that experiences many shootings outlaws guns, and some places (like the UK) outlaw things even when they're not a major problem (like guns).
2. Outlawing the weapons is pointless, because they're too easy to make. Any clown with a bar of metal, a grinder, and some duct tape can turn out a cheap sword. The best such laws can do is disarm honest citizens and bring in fine money from people prosecuted under the act.
3. I'd suggest that we take a couple of approaches for us to take, if we want to talk to politicians.
a. The flight 93 approach. So far, the US government has prevented 0 of 4 airborne terrorist attacks, whereas an ad-hoc group of citizens stopped one attack using improvised weapons and died in the attempt. An armed, loyal citizenry is a potent deterrent to terrorism and other crimes, and it is arguably 400% more effective than the US government in preventing attacks already in progress.
b. The "swords don't shoot through homes" approach. As an apartment dweller, I always favored bladed weapons or shotguns for home defense, because they didn't end up in the kids next door (as bullets do). Blades are good this way.
c. The import/manufacturing fee approach. I wouldn't mind paying a fee to own a sword, provided said fee was higher than the price of the average cheap sword from China. If people have to pay import fees to bring cheap swords into the country, it will make cheap junk swords less cost-effective, and (forlorn hope) might stem the tide of cheap swords, knives, etc. coming in from China and elsewhere. This is in our interests as collectors.
d. The "you want to ban military sabers?" approach. "Katana" is not a synonym for any curved sword, and I think some officers would be seriously annoyed about having to give up their dress sabers. I've seen this technique work in other contexts. Help the lawmakers define the blades they want to ban, and if you do it right, it will help you keep your favorite swords. For instance, define "outlaw katanas" as blades that are not laminated, are of set dimensions, shape, materials, and design, etc. Make sure that nothing in your collection meets the outlaw definition, and you're safe. Maybe not so principled, but there you have it.
My 0.02 cents,
F
|