# Oh, for fuck's sake. Are you gonna ban rocks next? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971 "2003-08-18T14:51:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/21 "2003-08-18T17:00:47Z")
**bordelond** not wanting to speak for the Aussies being Irish and all 😉 but that sounds about right to me. It is alien to me to think about having a weapon for self defense. What the fuck am I gonna do with a sword. Give it to the burglar to spank me with? Criminals are rarely armed over here. Cops don’t have guns like the UK. While shotguns are legal in Ireland with a license if you use them for self defense you are going to jail. BTW **Gary Kumquat** is a scot so maybe he won’t want to talk for the Aussies either 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/22 "2003-08-18T17:13:33Z")
Cops don’t have guns like the UK Like the UK cops don’t have guns here. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/23 "2003-08-18T17:14:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Giraffe \* > \*\*They’re banning crossbows while it is still legal to possess and show the movie “Kangaroo Jack”? Seems to me they’ve got their priorities completely backwards – they could be _using_ the crossbows to hunt down those responsible… \*\* Actually, according to [IMDB](http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0257568#writers), this is an American film, produced by the always-classy Jerry Bruckheimer. Don’t blame us Aussies if morons like Bruckheimer and the (American) writers thought that this was a good way to portray Australia. If you want to “hunt down those responsible,” may i suggest a trip to LA? ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/24 "2003-08-18T17:28:57Z")
**Gary Kumquat** Problem is, it has little to do with the people of a country, rather the (as noted) kneejerk reaction of the politicians of said country. Criminals here can fairly regularly be armed. Self-defense is, to all intents and purposes, illegal. Harming a criminal in the act of a crime is illegal and will result in prosecution. I cannot cite tis but it happened here in Tassie quite recently. Get mugged? Guy tried to mug me earlier this year. He was armed. Now, I am not suggesting we all carry swords or such in public, but our wonderful govt has been removing any means of self-defense for a long time now. Check around and people will tell you that they do not feel all that safe. ---
**Author:** ![robertliguori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/25 "2003-08-18T18:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > What the fuck am I gonna do with a sword? Give it to the burglar to spank me with? Lesson 1: The pointy bit goes into the burglar. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/26 "2003-08-18T19:08:25Z")
Gun control issues usually don’t get me too exciting one way or the other, except when the idea of banning comes up. Banning samurai swords seems awfully silly unless one also bans kitchen knives. But, hey, Autralians get to do things their own way, right? Remember what happened when Bart tried to straighten out that country?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/27 "2003-08-18T19:25:46Z")
You call that a knife? THIS, is a knife. That’s not a knife – it’s a spoon. Oh, I see you’ve played “Knifey-spooney” before. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/28 "2003-08-18T19:30:03Z")
I blame that Damned JRR Tolkein!!! They’ll be wanting your Magic Wands and Staves of Immolation next… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/29 "2003-08-18T19:44:36Z")
Scoff all you like, **Airman** , but you don’t have to live with marauding hordes of SCAians and pimply-faced D&D playing teenagers roaming the streets of Sydney, attacking decent, hardworking citizens with their ferocious and unstopable medieval weaponry! Laws like this are vital and necessary to the public good! I recently signed a petition that will outlaw flint-knapping and severly restrict the availability of atl-atls to law enforcement and military personel, and if you’re anything other than a bloodsoaked murderous savage, you’d do the same! Think of the children, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/30 "2003-08-18T20:06:55Z")
> [@](#): > > They’ll be wanting your Magic Wands and Staves of Immolation next… I think that’s what’s at the root of some of the hysteria gun owners feel over suggestions that they be banned/limited. Fear of losing their “magic wands” if you know what I mean… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mullets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@John\_Mullets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mullets)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/31 "2003-08-18T22:06:33Z")
_Cough_America’s crime-rate is eighty-percent more than Melbourne_cough_ Yeah, we need tons of swords since all these drug dealers walk around Australia with Ak-47s, right? Oh wait… Don’t believe all your silly NRA bullshit. No, Australia’s crime-rate hasn’t risen since the banning of guns. Morons… ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/32 "2003-08-18T22:29:47Z")
Do you have some stats showing what the crime rate of things like hot break-ins (home invasions, burglaries where the residents are home), muggings, and other violent crimes were before guns were banned and now? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/33 "2003-08-18T23:41:23Z")
So is it just _Samurai_ swords? Are rapiers and cutlasses still legal? If so, is there some explanation for this? But beware: One day they come for your crossbow, and the next it’ll be your Volkswagan-flinging trebuchet. And with that, Austrailia will forever be unable to host its own “Junkyard Wars” franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/34 "2003-08-19T00:14:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > **Scoff all you like, Airman, but you don’t have to live with marauding hordes of SCAians…** In all seriousness the sword ban is a matter of concern amongst Oz SCAers. Sure, when we hit each other it is with rattan, but when dressed in our frippery and finery we often like to carry steel (for display, not combat). **Sam Stone** , I haven’t read the Victoria proposal myself, but from some comments on the Oz SCA mailing list the legislation may well cover blades other than samurai swords – presumably not sport/fencing foils, but probably a display rapier or cutlass. Just not a bush machete. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/35 "2003-08-19T00:20:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*Actually, according to [IMDB](http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0257568#writers), this is an American film, produced by the always-classy Jerry Bruckheimer. Don’t blame us Aussies if morons like Bruckheimer and the (American) writers thought that this was a good way to portray Australia. > > If you want to “hunt down those responsible,” may i suggest a trip to LA? \*\* Yes, but it was _filmed_ in Australia, i.e. within crossbow range. Rather than banning crossbows outright, I would think Australia would be far better off using them on movie producers who come to Australia to make movies about rapping kangaroos. It really would be in everyone’s best interests. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/36 "2003-08-19T02:47:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*What a great gift for an only child. \*\* The children! How could we forget the children. I propose an amendment for the immediate ban of toy swords and water-crossbows ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/37 "2003-08-19T05:27:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UnwrittenNocturne \* > **[Criminals here can fairly regularly be armed. Self-defense is, to all intents and purposes, illegal. Harming a criminal in the act of a crime is illegal and will result in prosecution. I cannot cite tis but it happened here in Tassie quite recently.** Utter bullshit. Self defense may be a misunderstood concept, but it’s certainly alive and well in Australian criminal law. **Airman Doors, USAF** , this may be difficult to comprehend, but Australia is what we call a _federation_ of _states_. The state the subject of the OP is called, “Victoria”. Ergo, when Victoria moves to ban something, we say – for example – “_Victoria_ looking to ban samurai swords and crossbows.” The Commonwealth of _Australia_ is looking to ban nothing. **Giraffe** , what the hell is that movie?! :eek: > [@](#): > > \*\*But if they tried this in the US there would be total and utter hell to pay. A gun ban would be bad enough. But swords? Crossbows? How ludicrous. Our populace would never stand for that nonsense. \*\*Yes. But no one in Australia gives a shit. We _like_ controls on the weaponry people are allowed to own. This is not a “ludicrous” proposition in our culture. You’re free to hold _your_ national opinions on guns, knives, pepper spray or what have you – which, _we_ consider to be ludicrous and nonsense – but we’ll keep _ours_. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/38 "2003-08-19T05:37:05Z")
Wait-what if someone collects antique weapons, or whatever? ---
**Author:** ![benthames](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@benthames](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benthames)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/39 "2003-08-19T05:48:32Z")
Um, I dont have a cite, but arent crossbows illegal in NYC? ---
**Author:** ![benthames](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@benthames](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benthames)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971/40 "2003-08-19T05:51:44Z")
Slingshots too. And the word is “aren’t” not “arent.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-for-fucks-sake-are-you-gonna-ban-rocks-next/195971.md?page=3)