A strict reading of the law in many US cities classifies nerf and airsoft guns as deadly weapons regardless of the velocities involved. I don't think that gets

A strict reading of the law in many US cities classifies nerf and airsoft guns as deadly weapons regardless of the velocities involved. I don't think that gets applied often (ever?), but a few people have gotten deadly weapon charges for using BB guns, so the line isn't too far away. With that as the backdrop I wouldn't be surprised at sharpened rulers being classified as knives (especially as pertaining to laws regarding weapons near schools). I might be off base here, but I think those kinds of bogus laws are usually applied selectively in situations where any reasonable observer would agree that the perpetrator ought to be charged with something, but there isn't anything better to stick them with. The danger of course is that everyone always being guilty of something allows for less desirable forms of selective enforcement (race, gender, journalism, protests, teenagers), intentionally or not.