Auto Legal States - is MAINE now one of them?

RayseM

RayseM

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Has anyone here compiled a list of states where it is now legal to own and carry automatic knives? Could you point me to the right link(s) please.


EDIT I have changed the title and added to the question. At first I was pretty certain that Maine had recently enacted a new knife law that permitted the ownership and carry of auto knives. Now - a few days later - I am no longer certain because I can't find any supporting evidence - no text of any new law or segment on knife carry.


Can anyone verify please what the status is in Maine in this regard?

Thanks.


Ray
 
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One of the moderators here, Esav Benyamin, has a website that he maintains that has the best compilation of automatic laws I've seen, but I can't find the link I saved. He should pass through here soon.
 
Complete list, I have no idea. Where I live, Tennessee, they are legal and have been for several years.
 
Maine is now legal too - so I'm thinking about a new knife. Just wondering what my travel restrictions might be with such a knife in my pocket.

Maybe Mr. Benyamin will stop by and post his link. :thumbup:

Thanks.

Ray
 
RayseM said:
Excellent - exactly what I was looking for. Thanks very much :thumbup:

Ray
Click to expand...

That's actually my site, instead of Esav's (I don't know if Esav has a site).
I update it regularly when I become aware of new law changes, and am grateful to people that e-mail me when this happens. When I am informed of a law change, I conduct a review of the bill and statute to confirm what they say is correct.

Fun fact: It is legal to openly carry an auto in 35 states, and legal to carry one concealed in 28 states (subject to various conditions).
 
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My apologies, glistam. I thought it was Esav who maintained the site.

The Knife Owners' Protection Act of 2017 (KOPA), which has been submitted to Congress, if passed, will, along with other actions, repeal the Federal interstate commerce restrictions of the Federal Switchblade Act of 1958. Authored by Knife Rights and introduced by AZ Representative Andy Biggs. That alone would allow us to freely send our autos back to the factory for repair.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
The Knife Owners' Protection Act of 2017 (KOPA), which has been submitted to Congress, if passed, will, along with other actions, repeal the Federal interstate commerce restrictions of the Federal Switchblade Act of 1958. Authored by Knife Rights and introduced by AZ Representative Andy Biggs. That alone would allow us to freely send our autos back to the factory for repair.
Click to expand...

That is some of the best news I've heard in a long time! I hope it goes through.
 
I'm sure Mr. Ritter will drop a thread on us in General when it is time to contact our representatives and senators when the voting rolls around.
 
I'm curious what constitutes concealed carry - a knife on a pocket clip in a front pants pocket with a jacket covering?

In the summer time with no jacket is a pocket clipped auto knife still considered concealed?

I will need to read more to understand these nuances - should I say "interpretations".

Thanks for all the info gents and for the great web site glistam :thumbup:


Ray
 
I just spent an hour doing the google looking for updated info on the "new" law in Maine that "allows" carry of auto knives.
Other than glistam's link above I haven't found anything other than news prior to the change saying that a change might be coming.

Can anyone please show me for certain the new Maine law?

I was 100% certain before I started my search but now :confused: Thanks for any help.



Ray
 
Apparently there is no concealed carry of autos in Maine according to the above link. To me that's everything.
According to my Kniferights app, concealed carry IS fine.
So which is it?
 
RayseM said:
Maine is now legal too - so I'm thinking about a new knife. Just wondering what my travel restrictions might be with such a knife in my pocket.

Maybe Mr. Benyamin will stop by and post his link. :thumbup:

Thanks.

Ray
Click to expand...

If the auto was made in Maine or the buyer fits into the few and narrow exceptions to the federal prohibition on shipping autos across state lines. Silly law, but there it is. Frequently violated and seldom enforced, but that was then . . . . If it came in across state lines illegally it is contraband subject to seizure, at least in theory.
 
SoCalEDC said:
Apparently there is no concealed carry of autos in Maine according to the above link. To me that's everything.
According to my Kniferights app, concealed carry IS fine.
So which is it?
Click to expand...

Glistam's site is based on what HE has been able to personally verify. If he hasn't been provided with the news/info/reference that Maine's law has changed, then he hasn't researched it for verification. His site errs on the side of personal verification. Better for him to list something is "Illegal" than state that something is "Legal" when it isn't. Knife Rights PROBABLY knows about a law change that Glistam is not aware of. Probably.
 
I have retitled this thread and am now asking a more specific question - did we recently enact new knife carry laws in Maine or not?
I thought for certain we had - effective October 15, 2016 but I can find no reporting on the subject.

Help please, if any one knows. Please provide a 2017 link. There are plenty of pre October 2016 links but nothing after that I can find that is definitive.

Thanks much.

Ray
 
April 17, 2015: Maine Governor LePage has signed into law LD 264, "An Act To Restore the Right To Possess Certain Knives That Are Used by Many Citizens as Tools," repealing the state's ban on switchblade (automatic) knives. Maine is the eighth state to repeal its ban on switchblades since Knife Rights started it Sharper Future™ campaign six years ago.

October 15, 2015: Maine' LD 264, "An Act To Restore the Right To Possess Certain Knives That Are Used by Many Citizens as Tools," repealing the state's ban on switchblade (automatic) knives is now in effect. Maine is the ninth state to allow switchblades since Knife Rights started it Sharper Future™ campaign six years ago.
 
OK - I was looking for 2016 - missed it by a year :D. Thanks TL.

So now to the question of defining "concealed". I understand that this is likely subject to interpretation but for discussion purposes, does it stand to reason that a pocket clipped knife being carried in a front pocket is considered concealed. I mean in a pocket NOT covered by a shirt/jacket or other way.

Seems to me that no matter how you carry an auto folder - in a sheath or on a pocket clip - it is concealed as an auto, until deployed. Am I being naive?

Thanks for sharing.

Ray
 
Hey guys, just catching up on this thread now. Yes it is correct that the law changed in 2015. I even found the old e-mail someone sent me.

Prior to LD 246 mentioned above, Maine had a specific statute that was an outright ban on all autos. This now-repealed statute was independent of the carry law. Funny thing, the auto ban was part of the Criminal Code, while the actual carry law is not covered there, but rather in Public Safety (most states have anything to do with knives all under the same title).

The still-existing carry law is Title 25 M.R.S. § 2001-A. The important parts are as follows (see link for full text):

A person may not, unless excepted by a provision of law:
....
B. Wear under the person's clothes or conceal about the person's person a firearm, slungshot, knuckles, bowie knife, dirk, stiletto or other dangerous or deadly weapon usually employed in the attack on or defense of a person.

2. Exceptions. The provisions of this section concerning the carrying of concealed weapons do not apply to:
...
C. Knives used to hunt, fish or trap as defined in Title 12, section 10001;
Click to expand...

Is an auto considered a "other dangerous or deadly weapon" etc.? While autos vary in design, lets face facts: Cops and the public have been spoon-fed the narrative that they are dangerous weapons for almost 60 years. That means the answer to this question is likely going to be a yes.

As to what constitutes concealed, there is a case of interest, State v Jones (2012). While the point being contested in the case was about whether or not Jones's conventional folding pocket knives are in this "other" categorization (they ruled they are not), it is worth noting that he had the knives clipped to his pants, as you describe in your question. The case specifically states that his long shirt covered the clipped knives, and it was this that made them concealed. As to if the knife has to be obviously an auto, no, I seriously doubt that. I have never seen a case stating that the knife's function has to be apparent, only that it is a knife.
 
Thanks much for adding to the conversation. I'm pretty comfortable wearing a knife every day - from knives clipped in my pocket or fixed blades (usually in the 3.5 to 4.5 blade length range) sheathed on my belt. I don't expect any legal confrontations just trying to be aware. I'm liking the option of carrying an auto.


Ray
 
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