A Michigan court says there's no constitutional right to possess brass knuckles in the state. It is a weapon typically associated with violent ambushes in dark alleys and banned in nearly two dozen states.

The Michigan Court of Appeals, in an 18-page opinion, declined to interfere with a 1931 law that carries a five-year prison term for simply having brass knuckles, also known as metallic knuckles.

A “ban on the possession of metallic knuckles falls within the historical tradition of prohibiting the concealed carry of metallic knuckles as a dangerous and unusual weapon,” Judge Christopher Murray wrote in a 3-0 opinion Tuesday.

Brass knuckles are usually a single set of rings that fits on someone’s hand. A punch can inflict serious injuries.

  • the_crotch
    82·
    1 day ago

    Assault rifle != Assault weapon. An assault rifle is a fully automatic or burst fire weapon. They’ve been illegal since 1986 and remain so to this day. And assault weapon is a made up term, based on superficial accessories like bayonet mounts or a pistol grips. Clintons AWB was essentially a “scary looking gun ban”. Guns that were functionally identical to banned guns were still readily available and perfectly legal.

    Clinton conflated “assault weapon” and “assault rifle” intentionally to cause this sort of confusion and get credit for passing a bad bill that didn’t really address the problem.