“Police are questioning the safety of a samurai sword-style umbrella that was mistaken for a rifle yesterday at the Burlington Mall,” bostonherald.com reports. Say what? Burlington police Lt. Glen Mills thinks that an umbrella designed to look like a samarai sword is dangerous because people think it’s a rifle? Maybe the police dispatcher heard someone report a man with a “weapon” and assumed it was a rifle. And the 911 tape is where? Meanwhile, you know the cops are full of you-know-what when they trot-out the “c” word . . .

“We live in a free country, and you can’t regulate everything,” Lt. Mills said, sounding suspiciously like a libertarian. “But common sense should tell you something that can easily be mistaken for a weapon shouldn’t be sold — and people shouldn’t buy it.”

Guess what? I don’t buy it for a second.

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18 COMMENTS

  2. There was a murder during a department store robbery last year in Woburn- next town over from Burlington (the case resulted in a review of the parole system in MA). That definitely played into their response, and I think they took the appropriate caution, but there’s no reason to blame the guy now. Just be happy that everyone got out safe, and we can all have a laugh about it. Not every situation has a bad guy, or should create new regulations.

    -Patrick

  3. “But common sense should tell you something that can easily be mistaken for a weapon shouldn’t be sold — and people shouldn’t buy it.”

    And common sense tells you fools shouldn’t be cops and public officials but so much for common sense.

    • I honestly believe that people have the freedom buy what they want. I just really disagree with the principle of carrying what to some may look like a potential threat, a long dark object that looks a lot like a sword, and then person carrying it wants to claim BS when they are detained/questioned after the cop tased and/or held them at gun point. If we met on the street and you have this thing slung like a sword over your back and all I can see is the handle, you may find that you brought a fake knife to a gunfight. People get shot for holding cell phones. Seriously, post 9/11 we must consider the “security” implications of our public actions. But by all means please feel free to buy it.

  5. “But common sense should tell you something that can easily be mistaken for a weapon shouldn’t be sold — and people shouldn’t buy it.”

    Common sense is an uncommon thing. Especially in polotics. Next they’ll make a law that limits how dangerous something can look.

    http://kikkerland.com/prod/UM08.html
    IMO it’s pretty cool.

  6. “We live in a free country, and you can’t regulate everything,” Lt. Mills said, sounding suspiciously like a libertarian.

    Doesn’t sound like a libertarian to me. Helps if you translate it from doublespeak to English: “We live in an unfree country, but you can’t ban everything.”

  7. I just checked out the link for the “Umbrella Samurai”, I don’t use an umbrella but I need one of these babies.

  8. I think I have an old beat-up 870 stock in the closet. And I have an old beat-up umbrella in that closet too. A little duct tape and..? Hmmm.

    Not one of my best ideas. 🙂

  10. Knucklehead parades about with make-believe sword. Others fright piss selves and demand someone do something. Ain’t nothin here be cured with law or regulation.

  11. What I picked up on in this story was a line in the video. “Overreacting to a perceived threat can be just as costly as not reacting to a real threat.”

    It was in reference to a SWAT team responding to an umbrella threat, but it reminded me of all the guys who carry guns around. Sometimes, I know it’s extremely rare, because as I always point out, you don’t need the guns in the first place, you overreact to a perceived threat. If it’s just pulling the gun unnecessarily, no biggie. But the same thing sometimes leads to those bogus DGUs which are really manslaughter disguised.

  12. Guys this really highlights an all too real danger in America today… the prevalence of tactical-ized assault umbrellas. Think about it for two seconds… easily concealable collapsible stock umbrellas, all-plastic umbrellas that can’t be seen by metal detectors, “spring-assisted” (read switch-blade) umbrellas. And there is almost no regulatory oversight of these sinister devices… for God’s sake they sell them at Flea Markets!!! We need to close the Flea Market loophole as well as establish smart laws to limit the size of some of these so called “modern” golfing umbrellas. Nobody needs an umbrella that big and besides they’re only good for one thing anyway…

  13. I think its common sense that a “SAMURAI SWORD” looks -nothing- like a “RIFLE.”
    Also: In Perth, West Australia, on the days of Waicon and Supernova, [popcult conventions] you see guys walking around in the streets dressed as shinigami carrying katanas and masamune [anyone who calls them samurai swords is a retard] all the time. No one thinks twice. This is a stupid thing to assume as a threat. Its a bloody umbrella!

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