Arizona’s top law enforcement officer showed off his nunchuck skills Monday after Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill lifting restrictions on the weapon.
Attorney General Mark Brnovich shared a video on Twitter of him twirling a set of nunchucks, also known as nunchaku, in light of the newly signed law removing them from the state’s list of deadly weapons.
“Clearly, my years of martial arts training paid off. Pulled my old nunchaku out of storage … like riding a bike,” Mr. Brnovich captioned the five-second clip.
The video was watched 269,000 times on Twitter and retweeted by more than 400 accounts in under 24 hours of being posted.
Signed Friday by the Republican governor, the law removing nunchucks from Arizona’s list of deadly weapons repeals restrictions that have made it illegal for years to make, possess, transport or sell them in most circumstances.
The law will take effect 91 days after the Arizona state legislature adjourns, at which point the only states in the country banning nunchucks will be California and Massachusetts.
In the meantime, individuals found guilty of possessing a deadly weapon in violation of Arizona law face up to 2½ years in state prison.
Mr. Brnovich, a Republican, was elected Arizona’s attorney general in 2014 and took office the following year.
A spokesperson for his office said that existing law allows nunchucks to be used in demonstrations like done by the attorney general, and that the video was mainly well-received, The Associated Press reported.
Not all Arizona officials were impressed by Mr. Brnovich’s nunchucks skills, however.
“Will nunchucks help defend Arizonans with preexisting conditions from attacks on their health care coverage?” asked Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat representing the state’s 7th District in the House of Representatives.
“Prior to this video I agreed with the governor in his support,” said Col. Frank Milstead, the director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
“Clearly the governor should have vetoed this bill,” he joked.
Nunchucks are described under Arizona law as an instrument consisting of “two or more sticks, clubs, bars or rods to be used as handles, connected by a rope, cord, wire or chain, in the design of a weapon used in connection with the practice of a system of self-defense.”
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