Federal Judge Rules Nunchucks Are Legal, A Slippery Slope?

Remember nunchucks? Well, they’re legal again.

DOWNTOWN — A federal court ruled a decades-old New York State ban on nunchucks is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The Court ruled that the 1974 New York State Penal Law § 265.01—which criminalizes nunchucks and other banned weapons—unconstitutionally restricts the right to bear arms as it relates to nunchucks. U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York Pamela K. Chen issued the ruling on Friday, December 14, 2018.

But one public official says, not so fast.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams says he remembers aking an arrests as a rookie NYPD officer.

“They can cause extremely serious injuries in a short period of time,” said  of the various weapons listed under the New York State Penal Law § 265.01. “There’s a reason they’re on that list. In the hands of the wrong person, they could cause a serious injury,” he added calling the ruling a “slippery slope.”

Nunchuck is a martial arts weapon that consists of two sticks joined together by a short chain. Prior to the ruling, the possession of nunchucks, even within the confines of one’s home, constituted a Class A misdemeanor.

Attorney and amateur martial artist James Michael Maloney first filed the case in 2003. The case traversed through a series of jurisdictions ending at the Nassau County District Attorney’s office. Liora Ben-Sorek was the attorney on the case.

You can even read about his nunchuck legal journey on his blog.

Malone wasn’t seeking a ruling on a complete ban but rather the right to use them within the confines of his home. Court documents state Malone wanted to teach his twin sons certain martial arts technique which is reliant on nunchucks but was unable to because of the state ban.

However, Judge Chen noted the Eastern District Court does not have the authority to write an exception to the complete ban. The court instead ruled on the constitutionality of the ban.

“The court gave me more relief than I’d asked for, striking down all applications of the nunchaku ban, not just the ban as applied to in-home possession, and also going on to strike down other statutory provisions prohibiting the sale, manufacture, etc., of nunchaku,” Malone told Bklyner in a statement. “As I come to appreciate the decision more fully, I am increasingly convinced that the judge not only got the law (as it currently exists) correct–but also that she has displayed true wisdom.”

As per New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. vs Cuomo, the burden of proof lies on the government to show nunchucks, or any weapon, falls outside the scope of the right to bear arms. The judge found Nassau County’s office failed to provide sufficient evidence as it relates to nunchucks.

“It is also apparent from the decision, and from all that led up to that final result, that a huge amount of thought and effort went into refining and rendering the final decision, and it makes me happy to see that our federal courts can and do (albeit not always) “deliver the goods” in applying the law to protect individual rights,” Maloney added.