# guns and swords in america (and ninjas too) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437 "2005-03-27T04:23:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/1 "2005-03-27T04:23:40Z")
are swords (and ninjas) legal in the US where guns are? if not, why? if yes, why aren’t there more people carrying swords around? (and report of rogue ninjas flipping out and killing people with their bare hands?) hmm. do blackbelt grandmasters or whatever require licenses? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/2 "2005-03-27T04:41:20Z")
It’s on a state-by-state basis. Most states, I believe, allow swords and other bladed weapons to be carried, as long as they are not concealed, unless you also have a concealed weapons permit. Pocket and utility knives are almost always exempt, though. As to why more people don’t? It’s impractacle. If someone were to attack you, odds are it’s a mugging, and they usually have a gun. Despite what Hollywood may ahve you think, when it comes to gun vs sword, gun almost always wins. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/3 "2005-03-27T05:17:51Z")
Like all mammals, Ninjas can be awesome _or_ totally illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/4 "2005-03-27T06:38:53Z")
Oh, great. Now I have this urge to ride my R1 with a katana slung across my back. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/5 "2005-03-27T07:50:40Z")
I can assure you, from indirect experience (my brother), if you are walking down the street with a sheathed Katana in your hand, you WILL be stopped by the cops. They also will be assholes, and ask you to put your gun on the ground, and then mock you for carrying a sword around. However, in Sacramento, it’s not illegal. They will give you a ride home, and threaten to arrest you if you do it again, but they can’t really get you on anything. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/6 "2005-03-27T10:50:36Z")
> [@](#): > > are swords (and ninjas) legal in the US where guns are? if not, why? The American Constitution guarantees the right to own fire-arms. There is no similar right to own other types of weapons. So many areas have tighter legal restrictions on swords and knives than they have on guns. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/7 "2005-03-27T12:09:20Z")
I think swords will never be all that popular, simply because one needs a lot of training to achieve basic competancy. While pistols are basicaly point-and-click, a swordsman has to practice (and sweat a lot) until he reaches the point where he’s a greater danger to his opponent than to himself. Most people aren’t up for that much work. Plus, the things are heavy - and _long_ How would you manage with one in your car? Where would you put it? What about escalators? Wouldn’t the scabbard whack people in the groin during rush hour on the subway? If you strap it to your back, wouldn’t it crumple your suit? ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/8 "2005-03-27T13:31:46Z")
“Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don’t”. Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/9 "2005-03-27T13:51:34Z")
> [@unclviny](#): > > “Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don’t”. > > Unclviny Priceless. I could however walk around with my .357 on my hip and my .356 slung over my shoulder. I don’t because I have no need to, don’t want to scare people, and I don’t want the attention it would draw. It’s legal, but I would be constantly followed, questioned by police. For good reason. I wonder how that works in the real world? In most states open carry is legal. Nobody does it though. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/10 "2005-03-27T14:03:54Z")
This is a subject I have to keep on top of, and is of importance to anyone studying the sword as a martial art, or even collectors. So I’ve never been stopped by cops while carrying any of my swords. If that should happen I’ll explain the purpose of them. If I transport them in my car, they are always in the trunk, the sharps are locked in a case. As why not use them for practical self-defense? Because they aren’t practical for self-defense. Not now anyway. If you were in medieval italy… ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/11 "2005-03-27T15:14:08Z")
From a practical standpoint, a sword doesn’t make a good weapon for the kind of close-quarters situations one’s likely to get into in the street. You need several feet of clearance to draw a sheathed sword - if the mugger’s standing two feet away from you, you’re not going to have enough room. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/12 "2005-03-27T16:17:53Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis] So I’ve never been stopped by cops while carrying any of my swords. [QUOTE] So… Do you walk down the street carrying a sword? Or have you? I would think that that would draw a lot of attention. Unwanted attention. I’m just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/13 "2005-03-27T16:32:45Z")
Oddly enough, I once wandered the local mall with a quarterstaff, for hours, without a single cop, or security guard batting an eyelash. (I had bought a hickory closet pole, at an antique auction. It was nearly two inches around, just short of seven feet long, hard, heavy, and had iron bands at both ends, which is pretty much a quarterstaff.) Although I am not one of them, a really expert quarterstaff wielder can do well against a sword, and a true master even against a man with a gun, if the shooter is dumb enough not to stay ten feet away. (Assuming the guy with the gun is an ordinary Joe, and not Wyatt Earp.) Oh, and my (VA) concealed weapon permit specifies firearm, and by law does not cover knives. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/14 "2005-03-27T16:36:06Z")
I presume the OPer is from the UK, where after a string of murders by sword and knife (one of an MP), stringent controls were placed on all sorts of knifey things. No such rules in the American states with which I am familiar. In my hometown we have a shop that sells exotic blades modeled after Japanese swords, Elf-blades and whatnot along side throwing stars and those sticks-with-ropes attached. I presume most of this stuff ends up decorating trailer homes. Of course any right-minded Brit would also be shocked by the gun shops in my hometown. I guess that why Americans have our own country. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/15 "2005-03-27T16:38:43Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > Oddly enough, I once wandered the local mall with a quarterstaff [Daffy Duck] Oh, yeah? Well, I have a _buck-and-a-quarter_staff! [/Daffy Duck] ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/16 "2005-03-27T16:51:46Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > The American Constitution guarantees the right to own fire-arms. There is no similar right to own other types of weapons. So many areas have tighter legal restrictions on swords and knives than they have on guns. GQ is not the place to get into a Second Amendment debate, but let me merely observe that the language of the Amendment does not specify “fire” arms; it guarantees the right to bear arms, in some (hotly debated!) connection with the need for a well regulated militia. To whatever extent it guarantees personal possession of firearms, it reasonably well can be construed to guarantee the right to bear sabre, epee, crossbow, pike, and/or katana. (And the fact that the militia doesn’t need swordsmen or crossbowmen is valid, but neither does it need men with .22s or shotguns.) ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/17 "2005-03-27T17:58:04Z")
To add to the debate this will no doubt become and Polycarp’s clarification the types of firearms that existed when the bill of rights was written are not regulated by federal law and in fact do not even meet the legal definition of a firearm. They do however meet the legal defiition of a weapon so I have no more chance of wearing my brace of (reporoduction) Colt’s navy pistols into the county courthouse than I would putting a tanto knife in my carry on luggage when I fly. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/18 "2005-03-27T18:09:23Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > The American Constitution guarantees the right to own fire-arms. There is no similar right to own other types of weapons. So many areas have tighter legal restrictions on swords and knives than they have on guns. > [@US Constituion](#): > > A Well-Regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. It says nothing about firearms, specifically. “Arms” is generally interpreted to be small arms of the size that would be carried by a militiaman or infantry soldier, which in the 18th Century would have included sabres and cutlasses. Whether the 2nd Amendment is still valid and useful today (IMHO, yes) and whether restrictions against long blades are valid or not is, as **Polycarp** states, a topic for **Great Debates** (or **The Pit** , if that’s your sort of thing.) As to its grammatical content and validity, I think any attempt at a **General Question** would probably quickly degrade into a **Great Debate** about the application of grammatical structure in the much-mangled English language and what constitutes a subordinate versus an independent clause. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/19 "2005-03-27T18:16:01Z")
I have to agree that the 2nd Ammendment is a topic for another thread, or a post in one of the existing threads. Back to the OP. **bouv** says that laws vary from state to state. This is true. What I’d like to know is which states do not have a prohibition against carrying swords. Also, can or do states that regulate the length of knives carried in public simply define a sword as a very long knife? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437/20 "2005-03-27T18:38:18Z")
this would be an interesting place to bring up something I recently posted to [If I ran a super secret spy agency](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308537). To over simplify it: Criminal with gun and training vs. cop with gun **and** kevlar vest. Cop probably wins. Criminal with crossbow **and** training vs. cop with gun **and** kevlar vest. Criminal will most likely win. Why? Because kevlar is made to stop the round, stubby force of a bullet, not the sharp, pointy force of an arrow. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-and-swords-in-america-and-ninjas-too/296437.md?page=2)