Massachusetts Machete Legislation and Moronic Firearms Legislation

SayUncle had this, and I'm not sure what to say.

That was the case as well in the Boston area, where a rise in gang violence involving machetes occurred in the past several years. The surrounding towns of Revere, Everett, Lynn and Chelsea have banned machetes, and there is now a bill before the Massachusetts Senate that would prohibit the carrying, sale and manufacture of the tool-turned-weapon.

I couldn't find anything on the web on the total prohibition of the machete, though I did find a site with a bill making it illegal to carry a machete unless you're intending to cut vegetation. I did find this, though it's pretty old. It's more related to the escalation of the use of machetes in violence.

Police say they are seeing a surge in the number of gang-related attacks involving machetes, the huge knives that are a ubiquitous tool in rural Latin America, with blades as thick as an axe and nearly as long as a sword.

I've never seen a machete with a blade as thick as an axe. I have a couple of axes, and even the thinnest one has a blad over half an inch in thickness. Maybe they have thicker machetes in Massachusetts (or narrower axes?).

But in my search I found this little gem of Massachusetts Legislation.

SECTION 1. Section 129B of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "“addiction" in lines 53 and 54 the following: SECTION 2. Said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 129D the following section:– Section 129E. A physician treating a person for alzheimer'’s dementia shall inquire of such person possesses any firearms. If the answer is in the affirmative, the physician shall notify the chief of police of the city or town where the patient resides. The chief shall take action to revoke any firearm identification cards and to remove all such firearms. No physician shall be liable in any civil or criminal action for providing such information.

Well, isn't that nice. So if you're smart, you won't ever tell a physician if you have a firearm. I'm surprised that there isn't a requirement for the physician to notify the police as to who has Alzheimer's so that they can run a check if they have a firearms identification card. Then they can kick in the persons door to sieze their guns.

And the Massachusetts Ballistic finger printing bill is back up for consideration.

Not to be unfair, I looked in the NH General court for such types of legislation.

It appears that the NH No-Retreat law passed the senate and is waiting for something in the house. That was very well hidden from the press.

I looked up machete and got no hits. Looked up firearms and found nothing obviously offensive. I'm not saying there isn't any stupid legislation in NH, I just didn't run across any with similar details.

Maybe it's just a slow year in the NH government.