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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 4/12/2006 9:17 AM
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I guess they are called Kubotan's or something... I have used one on my keychain since I found my first one in a surplus store in New Orleans like 12 years ago. Mine is round with contours to grip the fingers and a pointed end (Flat ended ones are more common)
Well, the airport took my last one. When I searched the internet to find a replacement, I found a new model that is much shorter, made for a woman I think. I asked a local store here and they said the length reduction was a legal issue and the old ones were not to be found any more.
These laws that describe what is and is not ok in a weapon design have to be posted out there somewhere.
I WANT MY OLD KEYCHAIN! I will post a link of it when I find it again. But I am just looking for general legal information to know whether the local store made that up or if it is true.
Vaughn
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Post #28
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Professional Poster
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Last Login: 7/11/2007 1:50 PM
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Hey Scourge. I used to have one back in the college days and the airport security almost took it too. I had to go back to the car to leave it there. I probably have it somewhere. If I find it, I can sell it to you for a high price since you sound desperate. 
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Post #29
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Professional Poster
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Last Login: 8/15/2007 3:01 PM
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Well, this thing is illigal why bother to carry it ?? According the Mr. Elmore of the Martial List: It is incorrect to say this is an entirely unregulated weapon.
Kubotans are not specifically named in U.S. statutes as dangerous per se. Where they may be prohibited, it would be because they could (might) be viewed as falling into a class of devices with the unique purpose inflicting harm by an individual who carries one or perhaps because they might be viewed as "designed to be capable of death or serious bodily injury." (Fat chance.)
Be advised that in 1999 New Hampshire's Supreme Court found that an ordinary roll of coins, when carried for protection and held in the hand (i.e., for fist loading) to strengthen a punch was a dangerous weapon and a violation of the state's statute outlawing metal knuckles. As Massad Ayoob pointed out in 1983, "...anything becomes a weapon when you hit somebody with it."
The Kubotan may NOT be used to strike under UK law, it may only be used to apply pressure to nerve points or to enhance locks, holds or chokes, though this is an area of controversy in legal interpretations. Many UK law enforcement officers don't know what a Kubotan is. So, as in the U.S., being polite in an encounter with the authorities is always important. And using a wooden one may help ensure it is not misperceived as an overt weapon.
It is for these reasons that Kubotans which contain a hidden internal knife or darts and perhaps even the ones with pointed ends should probably be avoided. The time to deploy a hidden knife from within a Kubotan pretty much rules them out for spontaneous self-defense anyway. And the ones with ends tapered to a point are more likely to be suspect in an inspection of the keychain in today's environment of airport paranoia. This even though one Kubotan source reports the ones with pointed ends might be explained away as a device to break a car's side window out in case of emergency.
Prince Loeffler
Shugyokan Shorin Ryu Dojo
Matsubayashi Ryu Karate-Do Forum
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Post #33
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Dedicated Member
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Last Login: 11/26/2007 2:49 PM
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Prince, you sound like a lawyer. Maybe you should post some legal stuff that you have dealt with or heard about that deals with martial arts. I'd be interested in other scenarios.
"Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world."
-- Dave Barry
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Post #72
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 4/12/2006 9:17 AM
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| Well, I had to go to court the other day, and after 9-11, security is HEAVY at the court houses. I forgot to leave my *** keychain in the car again. I tried to hide it in my coat and run in threw, but they saw it. They took it, but gave me a receipt to get it back on my way out. Not only is it a pointed kubotan, it was put on a grinder and sharpened even more. They joked about how I could really put an eye out with it. So this is not really legal info, but the court has never confiscated my keychains, so they can't be too bad.
Vaughn
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Post #146
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Forum Member
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Last Login: 3/16/2007 10:59 PM
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Interesting. I would expect it to be confiscated, especially from a court house. Oh well...there goes our legal system heavy at work again 
-----------------------------------------
Pete Gebe
"He who know others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened." - Tao Te Ching
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Post #149
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 4/12/2006 9:17 AM
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| Well, first, there are multiple sizes. My current one, I have bought many like it on the net, is shorter than my originals. The martial arts store here said the larger ones are illegal. The version I carry now IS legal. They are the exact same keychain other than the 1/2" difference. So I am not really looking to carry an illegal weapon. I am just wanting a legal keychain that is exactly like mine, but fits my hands. So the issue is not with my desire to carry illegal weapons, but the need to know if it is really illegal at all... I don't trust the word of the crazy lady working at the martial arts store... I will attach a pic of it soon, or find an internet link so you can see the exact model. I will also get detailed measurements. Vaughn
Vaughn
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Post #374
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Professional Poster
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Last Login: 7/11/2007 1:50 PM
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| Interesting that 1/2 inch difference in kobutan would make the difference between legal and illegal. Why is a sawed off shotgun illegal then?? LOL
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Post #375
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