actually that law traces its self back to the gold rush days when people feared the Chinese numbchucks are a felony too. as are most scary asain weapons.
Nunchucks were legal in California in the 70's. During the era of
Kung Fu, school kids were playing with them, and Dojos were training their use. Of course, our school made them a no no, but it was ok to have a baseball bat. Oh yea, they banned throwing stars of all type and description as well.