I’ve done some searching, and the answers I’ve found are somewhat ambiguous. All I can tell for sure is that it can be illegal on a state-by-state basis to carry a concealed blade with length greater than X in/cm. That doesn’t help, because I’m not asking about concealment. I want to know if it would be legal to wear, in full public view, a full-length sword (broadsword, rapier, katana, claymore if you’re really really big…take your pick). I’m thinking either the strapped-to-the-belt variety, or the over-the-shoulder scabbard. If, by some strange combination of legislation, it could be argued that a sheathed sword is “concealed”, then assume we’re just talking about the blade itself. So, is it legal? If it’s on a state-by-state basis, which I would guess to be the case, is it legal in Virginia?
Furthermore, if it isn’t, is there any sort of permit that one can obtain to allow it? I know that, in VA, there is a special concealed carry permit allows one to bear certain types of firearms that persons without CCPs cannot openly carry. Is there something similar that applies to blades?
(By the way, in case anybody’s wondering: no, I don’t want to schlep a shortsword around and challenge random people to duels. I just happen to have an authentic katana for which I fashioned a backstrap last year for a friend’s Halloween costume, and about half an hour into walking around downtown Roanoke with a sword-wielding companion, it occured to me that we might be on shaky legal ground. Nobody said anything, but now, I’m just curious.)
Several places have banned selling katana, etc. as some gangs have been using them to beat up other youth, etc. (slice up?).
I assume that not being on the books (no swords) does not mean that you can get away with it. There’s likely an overarching weapon law and it’s hard to say a sword is for something else (“Hey, I’m just cutting some weeds and trimming the hedge later today!”).
Here’s a quick “I’m on my way out the door answer”:
Obviously this will vary by state. Here’s how it works in Florida:
Length of blade has nothing to do with anything. If it is not a “common pocket knife” it cannot be concealed on your person. Otherwise you are possessing a concealed weapon. This is a misdemeanor. (Not to be confused with having a concealed firearm - a felony).
You can get a permit that allows you to conceal weapons or firearms. So with a permit, you can conceal a sword or a gun. Your choice. It’s an easy choice if you ask me.
Most states that allows concealed carry permits allow you to conceal both weapons or firearms. However, some restrict this to just firearms. That makes little sense IMHO.
Anyway, with all that said. Wearing a VISIBLE weapon is perfectly legal in FLorida. You can run around like a godamn ninja or samari all day long if you want. As long as the weapon is obvious then you are clear. A scabbard across your back would not be a concealed weapon. So you could wear that to work with your suit and tie and no be arrested on your way there.
So to sum it up:
Visible Weapon - Legal
Visible Firearm - Misdemeanor (Crazy, I know!!!)
Concealed Weapon - Misdemeanor
Concealed Firearm - Felony
Can you provide any more info on this? I can’t think of any use a gang would have for a katana that a switchblade, gun, or baseball bat wouldn’t be better suited to.
Your link doesn’t explain penalties for visible firearms or visible weapons. I quickly looked for a Michigan statute on that subject but couldn’t find it. Can you find the statute on carrying nonconcealed weapons or firearms?
Wow. Ok. I misread the statute the first time around. So you can carry a knife “of any length” as long as it is visible and not in a car. And you can conceal a “hunting knife.”
I’m a little busy today, but I can’t find anything saying you can’t carry a sword. You just have to be a Samurai in the true sense . . . You gotta be on foot or horseback, right?
I wear mine all the time, well, actually, only to or from restraunts while in my S.C.A. garb. It varies from state to state but I’ve learned that if people look at you and see “Oh, he’s wearing a costume” they will not get a bad vibe from you and they will ignore you.
In California (Los Angelese) they had an ordnance that you could carry a sword if it was for “Theatrical Purposes”.
My only real experience is at the Ren Faire, which at least used to be held on public land (county fairgrounds). There are always a considerable number of people toting around various pieces of cutlery ranging from wee little knives to polearms. No problems with that, although many people would “peace bond” their weapons (visible tiedown holding weapon in place).
Heh, go to VT, no concealed weapon law. You can carry any weapon (except brass knuckles, blackjacks, switchblades, and a few other illegal weapons) with you in any way you want. In your pocket, brandished in your hand, up your butt, whatever you want. There are a few provisions, though. You can’t have the intent to harm someone with it, you can’t point a firearm at anyone except in self defense or in the line of duty, and certain locations don’t allow it, such as schools, state buildings, etc…
In California, it’s legal to carry a knife of any length (including a sword) as long as it’s not concealed.
However, on a school campus, you can’t carry anything with a blade longer than (IIRC) 1.75". Not that you’d want to wander around a school with a sword, but this got me into a bit of trouble in my college days.
Not disagreeing with you, but do you know a cite for this California law. Are there any city or county laws that can make such visable carrying illegal?
I know for certain that it’s legal in the cities of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights, OH, so long as it’s not concealed. A friend of mine and I (he has 4 or 5 swords, I have two) checked up on that to be sure when we were in high school, since those are our hometowns.
Meanwhile, on the school grounds itself, any blade at all (even a pocketknife) was forbidden, with varying levels of enforcement. But that wasn’t a matter of law, just of school policy.
In New York, carrying of an ordinary sword (concealed or unconcealed) would be legal unless it is carried with the intent to use it against another. N.Y. Penal Law § 265.01(2) provides (emphasis added):
See People v. Holland, 279 A.D.2d 265, 719 N.Y.S.2d 320 (3d Dep’t 2001) (affirming conviction of man brandishing sword at state trooper responding to domestic dispute).
(Carrying a cane sword, defined as “a cane or swagger stick having concealed within it a blade that may be used as a sword or stilletto” and varous types of knives like switchblades and gravity knives is illegal, however.)
I believe it was something in CA and then in Australie, but no more info. It was youth gangs, they don’t ahere to logic, but cool. A katana or machete or something seems cool. And pretty scary. Not for carrying around but for “going home and coming back with friends” sorta fight. As I recall.
In Montana, it’s legal to open-carry a sword and I do so regularly. I did have a discussion with the local sheriff about whether it counted as “concealed” if the sword was sheathed but the scabbard was visible. He figured it was still open-carry.
When dressed up for Scottish events and ethnic festivals, I may wear anything from the “casual kilt” (in which case I’m carrying a claymore, dirk, sgian dubh, and possibly parrying knife or broadsword) to the full formal “Prince Charlie” (in which case I have only the dirk and sgian dubh).