Weapons Act of 2406

The Weapons Act of 2406 was a legal decree that relaxed the previously draconian weapon ownership and carry laws of Ousho City. It reclassified weapons as either illicit or not, and allowed a number of non-projectile, non long bladed items to be legally carried by the population so long as they were not concealed. It deliberated between 21 June 2304 and 29 June 2304, coming into effect in 2406 with a year-long preregistration period for blades between 9" and 22".

It is well known that the Toyamoto yakuza were behind the inititive, which had existed since weapons were banned after the Corporation became a government in the 24th century. The original idea was to open a number of generally defensive objects to the general population for their defense, citing:


 * All those criminals who wanted weapons were going to get them anyways
 * A sizable portion of the population already owned them and used them in less patrolled areas for their own protection
 * Legalizing a class of common weapons allows you to sell, tax and regulate them, undermining illegal arms factories
 * Legalizing a class of weapons decreases crime
 * The Police have body armor, APC's and assault rifles - knives, batons and swords cannot harm them
 * Weapons do not hurt people, dangerous people do

This is known as the "Marijuana Defense".

The presenting party, backed by the Yakuza clans Toyamoto, Kumo and Shinotei originally pushed for anything up to 31" as legal carry, so that their members could wear their swords (called by Yakuza "ceremonial badges") openly, with the caveat that only they would be permitted to own or carry anything above 22", the size of the usual wakizashi blades. This concession was not given, and instead anything over 22" could be owned but not carried, and anything over 9" required special permission (a "take that" to the Yakuza). This was a concession to slightly appease the Corporate Police Agency, which was against the matter of weapon legalization wholesale.

Conclusion
Basically, all guns remained illegal (as suggested by the presenting party), but tasers, knives and a variety of other instruments like batons were legalized for carry. Bladed objects were capped at 22" for legal carry, but you would need a special permit issued by the Corporate Police Agency to carry anything over 9". Only the Corporation would be allowed to manufacture these items, and only they could decide just who got to sell them. You could own anything over 22", but you could never publicly carry them.

In Society
The Corporation opened a pair of factories to produce regulated pattern blades (of Japanese style), and one to produce electronic stunners during 2405. Sales have been good, especially for the electronic stunners and small pocket knives. Prices are inflated on blades longer than 6" as a means of item control. An export market has been found, which further increases sales; 80% of all blades produced on Ousho over 9" are exported.

The Corporate Police readied themselves for an outbreak of violence, but it never came. True to the presenting party's findings, most of those who wanted weapons to commit crimes already had access to them. Firearms, the major weapon of concern, remained just as illegal as before, and people who wanted knives or stunners for self defense were now able to access them. Murder rates per year between the implementation of the act in 2406 have had a slight decrease. The number of armed assaults has had a slight increase. No increase has been found in the number of officer deaths per year (averages about 13). The Corporation stepped up anti-weapon training in their basic police officer, issuing the jitte and educating their beat officers in counter-blade techniques. It was expected that the now purchasable and legal-to-own blades of 20-30" length would become weapons with which the population could assault officers, but it simply never came. Exactly two incidents were recorded, and both were by mentally-damaged individuals with a history of aggressive criminal behavior.