Real life druid arrested for wearing sword in public.

[frankthedm]

Druid charged for taking ceremonial sword on shopping trip

Tue Jul 13,10:52 AM ET Add Offbeat - AFP to My Yahoo!



LONDON (AFP) - Druid was in court charged with carrying a ceremonial sword, used for casting spells, while on a shopping trip to a local hardware store.


AFP/File Photo



Merlin Michael Williams appeared at a magistrates' court in the southern English coastal town of Portsmouth wearing his full druidic regalia of green robe and blue cloak, with talismans around his neck.


The 26-year-old was charged with possessing an offensive weapon after a security guard saw him with the sheathed three-foot (90-centimetre) blade draped over his shoulder as he browsed through a branch of Wilkinson Hardware.


About a dozen fellow members of the Insular Order of Druids sat in the court's public gallery, while chief druid King Arthur Pendragon, wearing white robes with a red lion emblazoned on the front, acted as Williams's legal adviser.


The sword, named Talisen, has been confiscated by police as evidence.


"It is accepted by the Crown this (sword) was sheathed and there was no offensive action by the defendant. The issue is whether this is an offensive weapon per se," prosecutor Colin Shackel told the court.


The case was later adjourned so the prosecution could examine what Williams said were case histories which set a precedent for druid ceremonial swords not being considered offensive weapons.


According to a spokesman for the Insular Order of Druids, ceremonial swords are used for casting spells and other ritualistic purposes.


Druids were the pagan priest class in early Britain, particularly for the Celtic tribes from around 600 BC, and are associated with sacred stone circles such as the famous site at Stonehenge, southwest England.

However, little is known about their activities and modern druids are sometimes dismissed as fantasists with a fondness for dressing up and no genuine link with the activities of the past.

"However, little is known about their activities and modern druids are sometimes dismissed as fantasists with a fondness for dressing up and no genuine link with the activities of the past. "

I tend to agree with this:

Most definitly. Far too few of those who claim to follow olde gods and olde ways give the proper sacrifices. The neo-druids rarely give the proper offerings in thier wicker men {is it really that hard to get a criminal to roast?}. But that really is the modern squeamishness that taints all religeons.

 

[Dogbrain]

This Arthurian Warband is a group of total dingleheads. They even put up rants from Noam Chomsky on their website.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Fark.com had a link to this story as well, but with a funnier headline.

"Druid arrested for carrying spellcasting sword into hardware store. Police still looking for ranger with +2 chain mail."

 

[KenM]

This Arthurian Warband is a group of total dingleheads. They even put up rants from Noam Chomsky on their website.

Who is Noam Chomsky?

 

[Kaleon Moonshae]

I don't know about the UK, but here in the US, your right to religious freedom can be restricted if perceived to be a potential public hazard.

Under such a rationale, practitioners of certain faiths have had their right to carry their ceremonial/religious knives restricted in certain places. I would hate to see how fast the Judge's gavel would fall in the US if this guy had been on school, bank, or Court grounds, or trying to board a plane with that thing. It might come close to violating the speed of light.

Actually this a bit of a broad statement. At Oklahoma state university, when I went there for my degree all you had to do in order to be allowed to carry your ritual blade *wherever* you like is register it with the campus police. It was then considered a freedom of religion issue and you were allowed *to carry* it, but if you brandished it then that was another matter. Many of my pagan friends had their athames listed and could carry them in their purse, boot *completely concealed* and be ok, just as someone else could wear a cross tucked under their shirt.

 

[Ranger REG]

Also, the guy's name is Merlin. His legal advisor is named King Arthur Pendragon. I weep for humanity.

Only now you realized? Humanity have been disappointing me for the last decade. I can't wait for the next evolution and we go by way of the dodo and dinosaur.

P.S. Yes, I was rooting for the aliens in ID4: Independence Day.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Who is Noam Chomsky?

The answer to that is best discussed elsewhere--anywhere else, actually. I also would prefer if people do not pronounce judgment on individuals or groups based on political criteria.

--Dinkeldog, Moderator

 

[Ranger REG]

No. Every individual state, county, and municipality sets its own laws. There is no USA-wide policy as such on swords. Some locales ban all edged weapons (and have convoluted language to exclude pocketknives and cooking knives).

Gawd, I hope so. I don't think I want to use my no-dachi to carve up the holiday turkey, nor come home to an angry, nagging gf waving a bastard sword instead of a cleaver.

 

[Planesdragon]

No. Every individual state, county, and municipality sets its own laws. There is no USA-wide policy as such on swords. Some locales ban all edged weapons (and have convoluted language to exclude pocketknives and cooking knives).

And such laws MAY be simply unconstitutional. Although it's highly unlikely that anyone willing to wear a sword around will have the finances to press the issue all the way to a Court that can render that decision. (In NY, for example, the town justice can't delcare a law uncostitutional, and that's the guy you'd see for a ticket for carrying a sword. You'd have to go to the county-wide Supreme Court judge for that...)

Hmm... I need to get back to collge, and see if SCOTUS has ever decided if a sword is an "arm." Hmm.... nope. No easy rulings on Findaw or google. Although Google did turn up an amusing conspiracy theory about the 13th amendment.

 

[Staffan]

I don't know enough about the specific case in question, but in general I don't think religious mandates should allow people to ignore laws and regulations. If your religion says you should keep your face covered in public, and the law says that any identification documents (e.g. driver's license) have an accurate picture on it, you'd better not have your face covered on your ID. The same applies here - if the law says you aren't allowed to carry blades over a certain size in public, being a druid isn't an excuse.