There are several principles to which I adhere firmly in the world of balisongs.
Here is one:
-All balisong makers should offer full-length scales
Here is another:
-Balisongs are not gravity knives!
If a cop seems like he wants to take your bali, ask him to open it "with a flick of the wrist". This will stump him, and a) you will keep your knife, or b) you will be jailed for flippancy, which seemed to be a crime in certain parts of CA last time I checked.
Shucks. Look at it this way. Clay can open a balisong with a "flick". Bob Munden can shoot a single-action Colt faster than some sub-machine guns. Does that mean that a balisong is a a switchblade and a revolver is a machine gun? No. It means that Clay is highly skilled, Bob Munden is highly skilled, and legislators, as ever, don't know what they're talking about.
All this crap I have just laid down is fairly useless on the street. If you have a lot to lose or are of a shade unpopular with local police, don't carry your balisong. In the event of legal strangeness, it will cause trouble for you.