Tacoma struggles with medieval weapons
TACOMA – Some government officials are crusading to get cheap versions of medieval weapons off the shelves of convenience stores because the appearance of collectible swords, crossbows and throwing stars is upsetting people who just want to buy a pack of gum.
The city’s lawyers are having a difficult time, however, figuring out how to revise Tacoma’s “dangerous weapons” ordinance to stop the stores from selling collectible swords without also making it illegal for grocery stores to sell bread knives or camping stores to offer hunting knives.
The City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee first heard complaints about the weapons from neighborhood activists, but police say they haven’t seen an increase in crimes involving such weapons.
“I see no reason for a weapon to be convenient,” said Fred Brookshire, chairman of the South End Neighborhood Council.
Swords are popular right now, thanks in part to their role in movies such as “Lord of the Rings.” Video games and live-action role-playing may also be making swords more popular, said Craig Johnson, production manager for Arms & Armor, Inc., a Minneapolis company that produces high-end reproductions of medieval weapons and armor.
“It comes and goes,” Johnson said. “There is an uptick of swords in popular culture.”
The quality of swords used by practitioners of martial arts has very little in common with collectibles sold at convenience stores. Purists dismiss those as “swordlike objects.” They can’t be used as real swords because they fall apart and break, Johnson said.
The cheap stuff is often mass-produced in countries such as China, India, Philippines or Pakistan, he said.
Tacoma convenience store owners say they’re doing nothing wrong and are frustrated with the city’s attempt to regulate or ban the sale of weapons.
“No one can convince me it would help deter crime,” said Julius Henderson, son of Song Henderson, the owner of Peter’s Grocery on South 38th Street.
Many store owners say they don’t sell weapons to anyone younger than 18, and the people who buy from them are collectors, not criminals.
Stories about sword attacks show up periodically in the news, but there is no evidence of a rash of crimes involving swords in Tacoma.
Cecil Logino of the Seattle-based Academia della Spada, a school that teaches civilian dueling, believes in educating people rather than legislating safety.
“What people just need to keep in mind is, yes, it can be used as a weapon like lots of things,” he said. But a sword or knife requires proximity and a great deal of physical effort to inflict harm, he said.
“A sword has never been the best weapon to kill someone,” Longino said. “You have to be pretty dead-set on what you’re doing.”