In case you guys didn’t know, I’m a pretty big fan of knives, swords, and other weapons that predate the gun. As such, one of the Youtube folks I watch is Lindybeige, and came across this video on the Messer:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcLcsvw8rw0&w=560&h=315]
The part I found interesting is right at the beginning of the video. Apparently, it was illegal in Germany for most people to wander the streets with a sword. Not terribly surprising. What was surprising to me was that apparently the Germans had defined a sword in such a way that the messer was, legally speaking, not a sword. The reason? It hand a knife handle on it instead of a sword hilt.
Anyone else instantly make the connection to the modern assault weapons bans where one rifle is ok because it has a traditional rifle grip on it, but another is evil because it has a pistol grip? Or better yet, my Beretta Cx4 that has a “thumb hole grip” that I can stick my entire hand through, and isn’t a pistol grip because of a thin piece of plastic?
Yep… making things illegal because they’re scary looking/designed for the military has been going on for centuries.
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