I know that carrying a concealed gun in most states is considered illegal. What I was wondering is this. Can I carry a sword, in plain site, on my personage or would that be considered “Brandishing a Weapon”? I’d like to carry my sword to this clearing I found at a state park and pratice my kata there. But I’m concerned that it might be illegal. Any thoughts?
I’ve never heard of a statute that prohibits “brandishing a weapon” in such a general way. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any. There are plenty of SCA people I know who walk around in costume carrying swords that, even if dull, would make rather effective weapons.
Hmmm . . . I’d check with your states criminal codes for anything about carrying knives in public. Usually the laws are worded to prohibit blades of such-and-such length, or that can retract into handles, or whatnot.
There was a case about three years ago in Ohio of a practicing Sikh who was arrested on a weapons charge because of a 6-inch knife he was carrying. The knife, however, is a ceremonial blade called a Kirpan, symbolizing a Sikh’s willingness to defend his faith. The charge was eventually dismissed on First Amendment grounds, so there are ways around such weapons laws.
Missouri statutes:
571.010. As used in this chapter:
(10) “Knife” means any dagger, dirk, stiletto, or bladed hand instrument that is readily capable of inflicting serious physical injury or death by cutting or stabbing a person. For purposes of this chapter, “knife” does not include any ordinary pocketknife with no blade more than four inches in length;
571.030. 1. A person commits the crime of unlawful use of weapons if he or she knowingly:
(1) Carries concealed upon or about his or her person a knife, a firearm, a blackjack or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use; or
(4) Exhibits, in the presence of one or more persons, any weapon readily capable of lethal use in an angry or threatening manner; or
(8) Carries a firearm or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use into any church or place where people have assembled for worship, or into any election precinct on any election day, or into any building owned or occupied by any agency of the federal government, state government, or political subdivision thereof, or into any public assemblage of persons met for any lawful purpose;
Stiletto? Uh-oh.
There was a recent kirpan ruling in Canada, after which a Sikh student was allowed to wear his kirpan, bound in cloth and sewed up (even though many other Sikh students in the country are willing to wear a wooden, just as symbolic, version).
I don’t believe it’s illegal in Michigan, at least, but it’s ill-advised to do so in many neighborhoods. A lot of people could see it as a challenge (the sort of people that you don’t to have notice you). If you want to do kata in a park, you could do it–just make sure the sword is boxed, wrapped or otherwise rendered innocuous on the way over.
4 inches (blade length) seems to be pretty standard in most US jurisdictions.
Check with not just your state, but your city, as well. The easiest way would just be to call your local police department and ask. All I can say specifically is that in Cleveland, OH, and in its suburb Cleveland Heights, it’s legal to carry a sword so long as it’s not concealed and not used to threaten (a friend and I got curious about this a few years ago, when we wanted to wear our swords around).
In California at least, you’re allowed to wear it if it’s a costume piece, and you are at, on the way to, or coming home from an event involving such a costume. This is most often used by those of us who are Renaissance Faire junkies, but the law was most likely passed by Civil War reenactment types, who are I think fairly common in the government.
The guy who sold me one of my favorite knives pointed out that it’s not legal to wear or carry a blade of any length if it’s a weapon. Things are different if it’s a work knife or a costume piece.
Of course, if a cop questions me I’m not about to tell him my athame and bolline are ritual blades. I’d prolly get locked up for being a “Satanist”.
Actually, it’s legal to carry a concealed gun in most states, provided you hold a permit to do so.
Now, does a CCW permit allow one to carry a concealed sword is what I’d like to know.
“that’s not a knife”[whips out concealed 3 foot sword] “Now that’s a knife!”
This varies incredibly by state, county, and city. You also need to worry about whether practicing kata with a real sword in a park (I just noticed you said state park, which mitigates this a bit) violates a law, that one would actually be more worrisome to me(‘Officer, there’s a crazy man swinging a sword around over in the field where my kids play’). I’d advise checking with a local SCA group, since they’ll have already encountered any local laws on carrying around real swords.
While in most places in the US it would probably be technically legal as long as the sword didn’t qualify as a concealed weapon, what you really have to worry about is whether you’re going to have problems with the police; even if it’s technically legal, walking around an urban area wearing a sword certainly invites police attention and you’d want to be sure that it’s legal, and you might risk some kind of arrest or detention if the local cops aren’t partial to swords. Also, some locales have a strange definition of ‘concealed’, where the sword would be considered concealed by the sheath. I’d think that you’d definately be OK anywhere if you carried it in some kind of locked case (not accessible, not visible), though you wouldn’t neccesarily need to.
pkbites, that depends entirely on the state - they range from ‘any deadly weapon’ to ‘handgun only’ (like in NC, where with a CCP you can carry a pistol but not a switchblade).
Don’t sweat it. Just engrave Elbereth with the athame and the cop can’t touch you. Just don’t scuff it.
Justin
He can still chuck cream pies at you though.
For what it’s worth, there was a well-known eccentric here in Seattle who used to carry around a very large broadsword in a scabbard on his back. The cops would occasionally eyeball him, especially when he visited one of the more rural towns outside the city, but he wasn’t breaking any laws.
Check your local rules and regulations to see whether your jurisdiction is closer to Seattle than California.
Aww man … I’ve already cleaned mud, coffee, and vomit out of my black velvet robe (on separate occasions), I don’t think I could get cream pie goo out … 
On the “concealed” issue, the place where I bought my bolline advised wearing it (sheathed) on a cord around my neck, so that it couldn’t be considered “concealed”, as it might if it was at my waist and, say, my shirt covered part of it. This would probably be less than practical with a sword, but the same concept probably applies – make sure your shirt/coat/lion skin/whatever isn’t covering any of it, including the hilt.
Then again, the extent to which a three-foot piece of steel can be concealed is a matter of some debate, unless you can do that funky-cool Highlander thing.