The case for legalising duelling

Conservative Commentary ^ | 6 August 2002 | Peter Cuthbertson

[aculeus]

Didn't Lincoln when challenged to a duel say that since as the challengee he had the right to select the weapons he chose horse manure at two paces?

[wardaddy]

Cannons would be most entertaining.

Yes but they would make it hard to recruit seconds-in-waiting.

[Travis McGee]

Nice conversation topic, but totally unrealistic today.

[Just another Joe]

Ah, if I was only 6'7" tall.
Sledgehammers in 6 foot of water at dawn.

[wardaddy]

I know...shame. An armed and duel allowed society would be quite polite.

[harpseal]

Personally I like the idea and I believe that choice of weapons should include pistols, swords, and fighting knives. The duel may be till first blood or to the death as the duelists agree. Seconds would be charged with shooting down like a dog any person who violated honor by attempting to cheat. The challenged party selects weapons and provides same. The challenger has first choice. One side variation for pistols is pnly one is loaded for the duel. This option is available for those whose trust in God's protection is great.

Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Orual]

The BLADEnsburg Dueling Grounds

[TC Rider]

How about Barret .50 BMG's at 1000 yards?

[Shooter 2.5]

I'll bet you get challenged to a lot of wrestling matches.

[Shooter 2.5]

Conversations like this are like writing about nuking Bagdad.
We know that they are a waste of time, purely unrealistic but instill a warm happy feeling.

[StoneColdGOP]

You say that as if it was a bad thing.

When dueling is legalized, I'll be the first one issuing challenges.

[fporretto]

If memory serves, the Toth convention, under which most European pistol duels took place, forbade shooting to kill. The object was to inflict painful, humiliating wounds. A duellist who killed his opponent was not subject to prosecution -- the duellists had cross-indemnified one another against legal action by agreeing to the duel -- but his deed was frowned upon as a demonstration of either poor skill or lack of self-discipline; it was subsequently considered no shame to refuse a challenge from him. So once a duellist had killed with the pistol, others were essentially free to insult him; if he challenged them, they could laugh it off without social penalty.

In America, the Toth convention received mostly lip service. Indeed, Andrew Jackson killed a dandy by the name of Charles Dickinson who insulted his wife, and afterward boasted about having intended to do so. It doesn't seem to have negatively affected his subsequent career.

I think something similar to the Toth convention was supposed to apply to sword duels, but it's true that many, many sword duels resulted in fatalities -- sometimes of both contestants.

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit the Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com

[Travis McGee]

Not really. They had a plague of this "politeness" at the University of Virginia and other parts of America in the 18th and early 19th century until it was banned.

What happens is that you develop a class of well practiced sadistic bullies who become expert with both sword and pistol, then go around spitting on folks shoes and saying "your mother is a whore". Then these cruel homicidal bastards get to commit legal murder when the insulted man feels honor bound to accept the bully's challenge to a duel.

[harrym]

I agree. Also, duelling was limited to the upper classes, us peons settled things the same way then as now, a right to the jaw if he is small enough, a crowbar from behind if he's just to big to handle face to face. The street gangs have their "duels" but these involve assault weapons from moving vehicles at 50 yards. Unfortunately, the type of person this article is trying to civilize through fear of reprisal by being challenged to a duel wouldn't know what the hell you were talking about if you said "field of honor", they are culturally deprived, socially stunted, morally ambiguous f***heads who, in better days, would have been caned or horsewhipped to keep them in line with civilized concepts.

[ArrogantBustard]

Thank you both for injecting a measure of sanity into this discussion. The trivial nature of the "offenses" settled on the so-called field of honour in Bladensburg illustrate the idiocy of duelling as it existed in the real world.

[wardaddy]

One loaded? I think I would just apologize, given my rather shaky standing with The Lord. I have read about duels with pistols whereby turns were taken in firing order. Standing there and letting someone take a shot at you must have been quite un-nerving.

[wardaddy]

LOL...well said.

[Consort]

..Tex, the Passive-Agressive Gunslinger never draws his gun and never loses a duel.

[Centurion2000]

TOTAL BUMP ... bring it on.

[dighton]

If dueling were legalized, this place wouldn't have half the number of members it does now...

By this time next year, they could serve FR from a Kaypro.