Weapon laws in Themiclesia
Weapon laws in Themiclesia is a corpus of legislation concerning the importation, ownership, modification, transport, sale, registration, regulation, possession, and disposal of weapons. There are two main pieces of legislation, the Act for the Regulation of FIrearms and the Act for the Regulation of Weapons. Both laws date to the 19th Century, though both have been extensively amended since passage. There are also a number of restrictions made in other legislations.
Firearms
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Melée weapons
The Act for the Regulation of Weapons is the primary law that deals with non-firearms in private possession. This law recognizes the following categories of weapons with the following definitions:
- swords (劍)—any two-edged blade longer than 30cm
- sabres (刀)—any one-edged blade longer than 30cm
- spears (槍)—any pole longer than 30cm mounted with a piercing blade
- bows (弓)—generally only considered as a weapon if used together with arrows
- crossbows (弩)—generally only considered as a weapon if used together with arrows
- knives (短刀)—any blade longer than 16cm but shorter than 30cm
- halberds (戈)—any pole longer than 30cm mounted with a cutting blade
Possession restrictions
Swords, sabres, knives, and bows are permitted for private ownership by default under the law, as long as the owner maintains a sheath for each of the bladed weapons. Spears, crossbows, and halbreds are illegal in private possession, as these were historically deemed weapons only suitable for use in a battlefield; crossbows in particular are forbidden due to their penetrative power and accuracy. Kitchen appliances are specifically excluded from the definition of a weapon, though kitchen knives must not have a guard on them, must be shorter than 22cm, and must be in one of several permissible shapes to qualify for this exception.
Public wearing
If carried in public, a weapon must be sheathed, regardless if it is sharpened/stringed or not; publicly unsheathing a sword may be considered a provocation, which is punished by a fine. This rule is widely enforced as swords/sabres are part of many uniforms.
Palaces
There is a chapter in the Themiclesian penal law code (越宮律, gwjat-kjung-brjut) that deals with carrying weapons within palace grounds. There are some contexts in which carrying weapons is necessary. Public servants also carry swords as part of official attire; however, most swords since the end of the 4th century do not have an actual blade, since it adds weight to the heavily decorated sheath. Aristocratic clans have used richly-decorated scabbards to demonstrate their good taste and financial prowess. The absence of actual blades is both textually and archaeologically attested. On the other hand, the Royal Guards require functional weapons to carry out their duties within the palace walls (宮垣, kjung-ghwjal), which define the palace. Their weapons and armour are issued by the government when coming in duty and used under officers' directions; when off duty, their weapons are collected and stored under lock and key by the Tribunes. Whenever they are to be accessed, the tribune in charge will verify the quantity issued or collected. It is forbidden for the Royal Guards to give their weapons to others. Ranged weapons such as bows, crossbows, and javalins are not permitted to anyone in a palace.
Limits on individual movement in palaces have been imposed for the security for public agencies within. The most restricted area are the Palace Hall (殿, ntenh) and Court Hall (朝堂, n′rjaw-dang). The Palace Hall sits on a raised dais to the west of the palace and is the emperor's residence, while the Court Hall is the seat of the government. In principle, nobody could be armed in the Palace Hall, and this has been a consistent rule since the earliest surviving codices attest. Formerly, the emperor himself was an exception, but swords were always carried by a lord in waiting. Evidently, this sword had an actual blade. In 685, an envoy from a Columbian tribe saw the emperor's sword and killed him with it; since then, the emperor has not been allowed to carry a sword in the Palace Hall. This rule also extends to the emperor's bodyguards, the Gentlemen-at-Arms, who are allowed weapons standing at the gatehouses but not within. The prohibition of swords in the Palace Hall required courtiers to stand their swords on racks outside; having a richly-decorated sword was a point of pride when one went to retrieve it. There is an apocryphal legend that the Palace Hall's gates are inset with magnets that would detect any metal blades, though this is not true.