Nunchucks are not illegal in Arizona. The state removed them from its prohibited weapons list in 2019, so you can buy, own, and practice with them without breaking state law. Carrying them in public is a separate question, because once nunchucks leave your home Arizona treats them like any other deadly weapon, with age limits, location bans, and criminal penalties attached.
What Changed in 2019
Before 2019, Arizona’s criminal code listed nunchucks as a “prohibited weapon” in the same category as bombs and silencers. Senate Bill 1291 struck them from that list during the 2019 session.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona SB 1291 The current version of ARS 13-3101, which defines weapon terms for the entire criminal code, no longer mentions nunchucks anywhere in the prohibited weapon definition.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3101 – Definitions Possession alone is no longer a crime.
Carrying Nunchucks in Public
Arizona defines a “deadly weapon” as anything designed for lethal use.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3101 – Definitions Nunchucks are martial arts weapons, and prosecutors can treat them as deadly weapons for carry purposes. That classification controls what you can do with them outside your home.
Adults 21 and older may carry a concealed deadly weapon in Arizona without a permit. If you’re under 21, carrying nunchucks hidden on your body or within reach in a vehicle violates the state’s weapons misconduct statute.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons Open carry — visibly wearing or holding them — is legal for adults 18 and older under state law.
Active-duty military members and honorably discharged veterans qualify for a concealed weapons permit at age 19 instead of 21, and that permit covers deadly weapons generally, not just firearms.
Places You Still Can’t Bring Them
Age isn’t the only limit. Several locations are off-limits for deadly weapons regardless of your age or permit status.
- K-12 school grounds. Carrying a deadly weapon on the property of any public or private K-12 school is a Class 1 misdemeanor, escalating to a Class 6 felony if tied to gang activity or drug offenses.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons
- Polling places on election day. Bringing a deadly weapon into a polling place is a Class 1 misdemeanor.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons
- Businesses and events that ask you to disarm. If an owner or organizer requests that you store your weapon and offers secure temporary storage, entering anyway is a Class 1 misdemeanor.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102.01 – Storage of Deadly Weapons
- Nuclear and hydroelectric generating stations. Bringing a deadly weapon into a power generating station is a Class 4 felony.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons
- Federal buildings. Federal law separately bans “dangerous weapons” — defined broadly as anything readily capable of causing death or serious bodily injury — in federal facilities such as post offices, Social Security offices, VA buildings, and federal courthouses. Knowingly bringing one in carries up to one year in prison, up to five years if you intend to commit a crime, and up to two years specifically for federal courthouses.5GovInfo. 18 U.S. Code 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
People Who Can’t Possess Any Deadly Weapon
Arizona bars certain people from possessing deadly weapons anywhere, not just in restricted locations. These “prohibited possessors” include anyone convicted of a felony whose right to possess weapons has not been restored, anyone a court has found to be a danger to themselves or others or to have a persistent or acute disability, and anyone currently serving a prison sentence, on parole, on community supervision, or on probation for a domestic violence offense or felony.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3101 – Definitions
A prohibited possessor caught with nunchucks faces a Class 4 felony — the same charge level as bringing a deadly weapon into a nuclear plant.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons
What the Penalties Look Like
A Class 1 misdemeanor, which covers most prohibited-location violations, carries up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-707 – Misdemeanors; Sentencing A Class 6 felony is the low end of Arizona’s felony range but still produces a felony record.
A Class 4 felony, which applies to prohibited possessors and nuclear facility violations, carries a presumptive prison term of 2.5 years for a first offense, with a range from one year at the mitigated end to 3.75 years at the aggravated end.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-702 – First Time Felony Offenders; Sentencing Any felony conviction also strips your future right to possess deadly weapons.
Using Nunchucks in Self-Defense
Arizona is a stand-your-ground state. You have no duty to retreat before using force if you’re somewhere you have a right to be and you’re not committing a crime. Deadly physical force is permitted when a reasonable person would believe it’s immediately necessary to protect against someone else’s use of unlawful deadly force.10Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-405 – Justification; Use of Deadly Physical Force
In practice, a self-defense claim involving nunchucks will turn on proportionality. Swinging them at someone who shoved you in a parking lot reads very differently from using them against an armed attacker in your home. The “reasonable person” standard is what a jury applies to your response.
Check Local Ordinances
Arizona’s firearms preemption statute blocks cities and counties from passing their own firearms rules, but it covers firearms and ammunition specifically — not all weapons. Local jurisdictions can theoretically regulate nunchucks or other non-firearm weapons. Few Arizona municipalities have done so, but it’s worth checking local ordinances before carrying nunchucks openly in an unfamiliar city.