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What Are "Deadly Weapons"?

In the 1800s, there were tremendous technological changes that affected the kinds of weapons people could produce, purchase, and use. One of the most important innovations was the development of the revolver, a small pistol that could shoot multiple rounds without reloading. These types of firearms are now less popular than other kinds of semi-automatic handguns that use magazines with about fifteen bullets each. Though revolvers, sometimes called “six-shooters,” are outdated today, they represented the cutting edge of gun technology during the 1840s.

Revolving pistols were not the only “deadly weapons” that Texans tried to ban from the public sphere. They also included dirks, daggers, and bowie knives. These are all descriptors for large knives that would have been carried in a belt or holster. The bowie knife takes its name from Texan James Bowie, who died at the Alamo. In his adulthood, he carried a large knife with a double-sided blade that curved near the tip. The knife that Bowie actually carried is lost to history, but accounts describe it as being close to a foot long. Before revolvers became common enough for regular people to afford, the bowie knife was the most reliable weapon for someone caught in a life-or-death struggle. It did not have to be reloaded, and it was fatal in close quarters.

Other weapons included in the list were spears, sword-canes, and brass knuckles. Sword-canes were popular among wealthy men in the American South, particularly before the Civil War. These weapons could hide in plain sight, looking like nothing more than an innocent walking stick. Brass knuckles, metal knuckles, or “knucks” became common in the middle and late nineteenth century. Worn across the four knuckles of a person’s punching hand, they could deal fatal blows to the head and face. Spears form a unique inclusion within the deadly weapon list because they were not particularly common, and the fact that they were large means that—unlike the other weapons listed here—they could not easily be concealed or hidden.

It is important to note that the public carry laws of Texas applied to these “deadly weapons” rather than muskets, rifles, and shotguns. There are several reasons why long guns were not as tightly regulated as pistols and knives. First, they were so large that concealing them in public was impossible. Second, they were used for important civic and survival functions, like militia service and hunting. These were important activities for men in Texas and across the United States, and governments did not often try to regulate the use of appropriate firearms for them. In other words, long guns were appropriate for hunting and militia service, while deadly weapons were not. Rather, they tended to be used in the commission of crimes, or in bar-room brawls.