Originally Posted by
DDATFUS
Come to think of it, I recall reading that the primary reason that most iaito are made from an alloy of aluminum rather than steel is not a safety concern, but due to the strict laws governing swords in Japan. As long as the new law distinguishes between steel and aluminum swords, iaido practitioners should be fine. Someone should write their representative on the double to make sure that they know to word the legislation appropriately.
Sorry, but since alloy-bladed iaito would be just as useful for killing and injuring [and menacing] as a steel-blade, I doubt that weapon-prohibitionists would make any distinctions for them.
If legislators were actually capable of rational thought, they would know that weapon bans of most any sort aren't going to work unless they first take care to lock up criminals and lunatics and _keep_ them locked up. After doing so, weapon regulations are mostly [maybe entirely] superfluous. This idea, thank all the gods of Budo, seems to be getting some traction here in Canada, where the Prime Minister's proposed handgun ban [promised as an election goodie] has fallen pretty much fallen flat. The additonal fact that we just had another police shooting and the cry for more gun control _hasn't_ immediately gone up is another hopeful sign of growing rationality on the subject.
[the cop, who just happened to be a beautiful 25yo woman, was gunned down by a known loonie with a high-powered rifle. The loonie was known as a troublemaker who stalked another female officer, and was somehow given permission to possess a firearm _despite_ a judicially-ordered ban on his owning any kind of weapon. Details are fuzzy, but will most likely be highly embarrassing to the local authorities. FYI].
David Anderson
Calgary, Alberta
"Swords are the rosary of Aikido"
D. H. Skoyles Sensei 04/03/01
Nakayamakai KoAikido dojo