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Old 09-23-2005, 10:33 AM   #6 (permalink)
MooseMan3000
wouldn't mind being a ninja.
 
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Location: Maine, the Other White State.
Well, take it a piece at time. 18.908 a) You commit a misdemeanor if you service, sell, make, repair, own, or posess an offensive weapon. It would seem bad, except for the next two parts.

18.908b b) It's not a misdemeanor if it's used as a prop in a dramatic performance (e.g. carrying it with you as part of your costume for Ye Olde Renaissaince Faire) or if it's a curio (sometimes called a "souvenir"). So basically, carrying the sword at the Ren Fair should be fine. Carrying it just about anywhere should be fine, because it should be fairly easy to prove that it isn't meant as an offensive weapon.

18.908 c) A blade can be considered an "offensive weapon" if the blade can be exposed by some automatic mechanism. Since the sword you're carrying won't likely be a switchblade (I don't know, maybe butterfly broadswords are popular in Pennsylvania), according to that definition it's not an offensive weapon, anyway. So there's three instances of the law that say it's fine to carry.

Case law: You omitted an important part of the case: the part where they say whether it was actually considered an offensive weapon. My guess, from the rest of the wording, is "yes." Basically, there's a knife that doesn't open automatically. You have to flick a switch, then you can open it by flicking your wrist. According to the case law, that falls under the "otherwise" clause of 18.908 C. However, since your sword won't have any such mechanism, it doesn't apply to you.

In other words, you're fine. It's a renaissance fair. People will be carrying swords. As long as you don't actually kill anyone with it, there shouldn't be a problem.
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