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Mark found this article and a couple more. Please keep this stuff so you or your club will know how to handle future incidents:
I wrote an article on July 6, 2008, about the Getback Whip, which you can read by clicking here now.
In the article I discussed the fact that the Getback Whip is not specifically made illegal by California Code, but that under certain circumstances, the use of a Getback Whip could be construed as a crime.
Since I wrote the article, I have been contacted by people who have been busted with the whip or whips, and have heard that certain prosecutors and law enforcement agencies throughout the State are busting people with Getback Whips by labeling them a “Slungshot” which is a prohibited weapon in the State of California.
A slung shot has been defined as a weight, as a stone or a piece of metal, fastened to a short strap, chain, or the like, and used as a weapon and is prohibited by California Penal Code §12020.
I have not heard the outcome of any of the Getback whip cases, but in my update to the original article, I have opined that you should not have a Getback Whip on your motorcycle in California until this issue gets resolved one way or another, or you risk being charged with a felony. (State Prison for a year or more)
Going one step further; in California Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm or by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment. California Penal Code §245(a)(1).
Basically PC § 245(a)(1) can and is construed to make all types of instruments deadly weapons if they can and do produce great bodily injury. Under this statute, a hammer could be a deadly weapon, a wrench could be a deadly weapon, a screwdriver can be a deadly weapon, a flashlight can be a deadly weapon, and yes a Getback Whip can be a deadly weapon.
It is what you do with the instrument that counts.
Therefore in closing, I am again recommending that based upon the current climate in California, you should remove any Getback Whips from your motorcycle pending the outcome of the Courts decisions in these cases. In no circumstance other than Self Defense with reasonable force, should you use an instrument on someone else which is likely to produce great bodily harm.
Use common sense people.
By California Motorcycle Accident and Biker Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2009