New Disarming Act

**ThistleDown** · 23rd June 12, 11:07 AM

Health and Safety to the fore!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9...rn-parade.html

**Chas** · 23rd June 12, 12:05 PM

Just upholding the existing laws, I think. Nothing to do with Health and Safety, more to do with offensive weapons in a public place.

Regards

Chas

**Piper** · 23rd June 12, 01:12 PM

It's not just the UK. A local town here advertised an event called "Pillage the Village". It was to be a "Pirate and Renaissance event" in a small neighborhood of craft and artisan shops in the town. I thought it might be fun to stop by with some of the grandkids. Since we're reenactors, we have all the "toys" and clothing to set ourselves up as Pirates. When I checked the website for details, I noticed a warning stating, "Please, no weapons". We opted not to participate. My youngest grandson and I did drive up for a look, it was only about 10 minutes away. Very lackluster event. Took us longer to eat a couple of slices of pizza on the way home than to walk through "Pillage the Village"

**opositive** · 23rd June 12, 01:40 PM

u.s. 2nd amendment issues/discussions aside (yes, i know this is not the u.s.), re-enactors without weapons is worse than a ren faire without belly dancers (that is an attempt to draw in zardoz). in this specific instance, remarkably ironic.

maybe i will get a sgian dubh after all.

**Chas** · 23rd June 12, 02:15 PM

Nothing to do with being a re-enactor.

The Scottish Republican Socialist Movement are not re-enactors.

If we are generous we could call them a 'political' organisation in fancy dress.

If we are not generous, we could call them dangerous people running around with lethal weapons who's stated aim is to bring down the duly elected government.

People must make up their own minds, but if we don't have the rule of law, we have precious little else.

Regards

Chas

**opositive** · 23rd June 12, 02:28 PM

well, if these guys are that bad, then my response has changed. dangerous extremists who openly and actively want violent, public confrontations should not have weapons.

**Tobus** · 23rd June 12, 06:48 PM

If we are not generous, we could call them dangerous people running around with lethal weapons who's stated aim is to bring down the duly elected government.

Is their stated aim to 'bring down the duly elected government' via force, using weapons? Or via more elections? That's an important distinction, methinks. After all, ANY political party or movement's goal is to bring down the duly elected government and replace it with their own. That's what politics means in any nation, when you get right down to it. But obviously it's the means of attaining it that makes the difference here. So what exactly are you saying? That their running around with historical reenactment weapons is somehow an immediate threat to government?

**Woodsheal** · 23rd June 12, 08:00 PM

In the spirit of "health and safety", for the upcoming Gettysburg memorial weekend the Union and Confederate soldiers should march through town carrying broomsticks.

**ThistleDown** · 23rd June 12, 10:08 PM

Well I really didn't want to create any sort of political controversy with this thread. I just thought it was lovely that the National Trust of Scotland has given these folk access to Bannockburn despite the article's statement that Stirling Council rejected the group on health and safety grounds. Just a bit of news from Scotland for the diaspora. No reliance on the accuracy of The Telegraph's reporting or the political sway of anyone involved. Great pic as a lead-in though, what?

**James Hood** · 24th June 12, 06:39 AM

Interesting...

...at the Chicago Highland Games and Scottish Festival, thousands of folks were openly toting sgain dubs, dirks, broadswords (for sale and full-dress Ren types) and not one, anywhere, observed act of impropriety, let alone endangerment, in a crowd of 15,000 people.

Huge kudos to both the crowd and Itasca Police. It's all a matter of attitude, maturity, manners, class....