[BlackBird]

I'm going to be in New York City for Halloween and looking to use a practice wooden sword as a prop for my costume. The sword has no sheath, but it will be on my back and will not be drawn. Are there specific NY/NYC statutes against this. I'm also curious of other state laws regarding the same issue for academic reasons. Please post legal citation if possible. Thanks for your help.

Al

[Meowmeowz]

New York's legislation (like that of many other municipalities) addressing weapons of a variety of forms definitely applies to bokuto and jo. The law proscribes possessing weapons while behaving in a threatening manner or "brandishing" weapons during any encounter, and further requires transported weapons to be in some sort of hard, locked container. Note that these laws are a little vague (and in reasonable circumstances Halloween will likely afford some flexibility). However, keep in mind that it is the law enforcement guy in front of you who gets to define "brandishing", and it's well within an officer's purview to stop, detain and arrest you if you are openly carrying such a weapon. You may be able to (politely) convince them that it isn't necessary, but if you can't, you'll have to try again with a judge. On a separate note, plenty of clubs prohibit weapons separately from municipal law, and you might not see a lot of flexibility there.

YMMV,
John

[Caregrasy]

about 20 yrs ago, my cousin had nunchaku in his car when he was pulled over for speeding. that nunchaku got him in more trouble than the speeding.

pete

[LINETFAD]

I am not a lawyer, but I think NYS Penal Code section 265 is what you are looking for when it comes to legal citation.

[Precturge]

I think I would just buy one of those plastic samurai swords, the more brightly colored to let someone know it's an obvious fake the better. NY police can be testy sometimes and if they even think you're going to be a danger to the public it would make for long Halloween. While I think the bokuto would be much more authentic I’m not sure it would be worth the trouble.

[aNoBVsUW]

Could you make it unusable by fixing it to the shoulder straps or screwing it into a plastic saya?

[agracias]

Just use a boat oar instead.

Does anyone know if the same law exists in the Netherlands? Cause I usually just have my bokkuto strapped on the outside of my shinaibag in the trunk of my car (can't get the tsuba off...).

Btw does that NY law also apply to those wooden toy swords that kids run around with?

[gSjQEEmq]

Just use a boat oar instead.

Does anyone know if the same law exists in the Netherlands? Cause I usually just have my bokkuto strapped on the outside of my shinaibag in the trunk of my car (can't get the tsuba off...).

Btw does that NY law also apply to those wooden toy swords that kids run around with?

If it's in the trunk i don't think it will be a problem. If you travel by train though, it is. A mate of mine got a fine because had carried it like that on the train. It would have cost him €120 if i did not have any space in my shinai bag. We both did not know that but we could resolve it on the spot so he did not get the fine.

grtz Mathijs

[glagoliska]

If it's in the trunk i don't think it will be a problem. If you travel by train though, it is. A mate of mine got a fine because had carried it like that on the train. It would have cost him €120 if i did not have any space in my shinai bag. We both did not know that but we could resolve it on the spot so he did not get the fine.

grtz Mathijs

Thanks, good to know! I never really wondered about it cause I see kids walking/biking around with hockey sticks in their hands on their way to practice all the time and those can be just as "lethal" as a bokkuto.

[gtyruzzel]

I'm going to be in New York City for Halloween and looking to use a practice wooden sword as a prop for my costume. The sword has no sheath, but it will be on my back and will not be drawn. Are there specific NY/NYC statutes against this. I'm also curious of other state laws regarding the same issue for academic reasons. Please post legal citation if possible. Thanks for your help.

Al

Have you thought about going dressed as a ghost? Well, the idea of wearing a costume that involves strapping a bokken to your back I think could use some extra thought. Regardless of the NYS Penal Code, you would not want to have something like that tied to your back in a public area where there will be no doubt drinking involved anyway. What is to stop someone from taking it from you and getting into trouble? Buy a big plastic sword or something like that :-)

...but seriously, some of those ghost costumes are great :-)

Be safe.