Another question I know you've heard before

There's no clear answer to that question. It all depends on the laws and case laws in your state/city. Tell us where you live and someone might know.
 
I don't think so. Using the clip is how the knife was designed. You can still see the top portion of the knife so, it's hardly concealed. I take concealed to mean making a special effort to completely hide an object in a unusual or deceptive fashion in order to do harm. Clipping a knife into your pocket is not deceptive or unusual, and plainly obvious to everyone.
 
I agree with Electriczombie. I do not consider it concealed. Of course, that doesn't mean that an overzealous officer might not think so.
 
In some states, they might consider a weapon to be concealed if it can't be readily identified as a weapon. It doesn't necessarily matter if part of the weapon is visible; if you can't identify it as a weapon then it's concealed.

For instance, with a knife clipped into your pocket, they could argue that it's concealed because the average Joe can't immediately identify it as being a knife. He might think that it's just a pager, cell phone, flashlight or pen clipped into your pocket. It's obvious that something is clipped there, but it's not clear what it is.

I personally think that's a pretty silly argument, but it's something to watch out for.

Like Medusa said, there's really never a clear answer for this kind of question. It depends on so many things: the officer; the DA and AG in your state, county or city; case law and statues; how you conduct yourself and how your lawyer conducts the case; etc.. It's very frustrating trying to get some idea of whether or not this kind of thing is legal.
 
I've heard of LEO's saying that a belt sheath conceals the knife in it, or that the handle of a folding knife conceals the knife. Unless the law is very clear, or there's clear case law on the issue, there is no real clear answer. Everyone here knows that a pocket clip means knife, but most people on the street don't. Most LEO's will probably recognize a pocket clip as going with a knife, but that doesn't mean that they'll consider it legally unconcealed.

I've said before that I might obey the law, and I might break the law - I'd at least like to know which I'm doing. Unfortunately, that is a luxury we often do not have.

Good luck.
 
I recommend checking with your local DA's office. Unfortunately the laws are written as such that you cannot gaurantee that how you've read it jives with how they read it, if you know what I mean.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top