A federal judge knocked down a New York state law banning nunchucks that dated to the 1970s, when martial arts star Bruce Lee popularized them in his movies by whipping around the twin sticks linked by a chain.
U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Chen sided with an amateur martial artist who opposed the ban, reasoning that the right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution applies not just to firearms but also to nunchucks.
The 44-year-old law that makes possession of "chuka sticks" a crime is "an unconstitutional restriction on the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment and are, therefore, void," Chen wrote in a judgment rendered on Friday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.
The law was challenged by James Maloney, who claimed the ban prevented him from teaching his twin sons a martial arts form that used nunchucks.
