Carrying on vacation in the East: legal EDC?

In the knife laws forum here in the General section there was a link to a listing of the knife laws of the fifty states a while back. A search should turn it up if you want to look.
 
I live in MD. I know as long as the knife isn't concealed, (clip showing isn't concealed) there is no blade length that is illegal. If it is concealed 3.5 is the limit. Don't mess with D.C. unless there is a shield in your wallet.
 
Very true Jailhack. I too have read the entire article many times over. And there is in fact NO mentioning of any said length limit in NYS. Somehow and somewhere along the line, many NYS and NYC residents came to believe that the limit is 4".

IME, I have found State employed LEOs to be more friendly in interpretation of knife possession among civilans. But also remember that respect and the proper attitude sometimes goes a long way when one is addressing LEOs in such a situation.

I believe fellow member Boriqua (Alex) has a web page that shows some contents from a reply from the Citys District Attourneys office. I recall something to the affect- "... and any others that may be considered dangerous weapons and that can foster gangsterism...". :confused: So yes, the broad interpretation by NYC is there.

Nakano
 
Nakano,

In NYC, it is not people assuming or being told by their buddy that the limit is 4", it is actual law. I left the actual case at work, but it basically says that a county or city is free to adapt their limits in a reasonable manner taking into account the actual Penal law. NYC decided that 4" was it, and it was made a city law.

Only problem is like I said, I dont know where they got the facts in the law that allowed them to adapt this ruling.

Also in researching this, I found it pretty amusing to see that a women who threw her high heeled shoe was actually convicted of possessing a dangerous weapon. :p (I guess the intended reciever sustained a cut of some kind)So the next time your women decides to throw a shoe at you for being stupid, let her in on this little tidbit of info:)
 
Yes, I should clarify that I intended that some NY City residents are led to believe that there is a legal length limit in NY STATE. But at the same time, some NY STATE residents believe this to be the case as well.

As for shoes, well, I prefer pumps since most blunt trauma wounds are not as severe as laceration and puncture wounds resulting from heels! :eek:
 
3 1/2 inch limit here.

ill probably catch shit for saying this,but i dont obey that law.
i have never had a problem with it either.

dont do anything stupid,and dont worry.

BTW- i carry everything from a carson m4,to an AFCK, 940, Mike Irie Skinner,raker joeker, etc etc etc.

like i said,have a good time,and dont worry too much about it in this state.
 
Mr. Bernard Levine maintains a link to a knife law list on his forum.You may possibly have to "search" it, I can't remember.
 
Just as a side note:

Most state laws are much more forgiving than local ordinances, and these are the ones you have to worry about. California: 4" some areas, 3" others, while still others any blade length folder as long as it's closed and is not open to public view (i.e. concealed). University campuses and related areas: any length folder but sud 2" fixed blades.

I think it comes down to intent and whether or not the donuts were fresh that day.

I had a balisong (an EVIL knife according to CA law) on my person confiscated my a local Central Valley Officer. No big, just a user knife that he didn't think I should have (he's probably at home playing with it as I type). But if he had been having a bad day it could have gone badly for me.

Cameron :)
 
It isn't that the DC police are especially nasty, but do think about the nature of the special problems that come with being police in the Nation's Capitol. Firstly, any kook with a grudge against the federal government comes here and takes it out on them or one of the other police agencies in town (see my prior post about the US Capitol Police). They have been dealing with demonstrations and/or riots ever since Dr. King's civil rights demonstration in 1963 and they have seen escalating levels of violence ever since. During the late 1960s, finges of the anti-war demonstrations used to get into violent tangles with them and then, in the 1980s, the pro- and anti-Knomeini Iranians used to go at each other with swords with the DC cops in the middle, trying to keep them apart. And then you have the nutbars who walk up to the White House and open up with guns. All in all, it is an interesting town for a cop, and that doesn't even mention the normal robberies, rapes, etc. On top of all of this, you have the diplomats and "Our Lords and Masters", the elected and appointed officials of either party who feel themselves above the laws that affect normal people. Take the Chandra Levy case, for example. Congressman Gary Condit has been interviewed by the police three times and it is only on the third time that he bothers to tell them that he has been having an affair with this girl who has been missing for ten weeks, and, although the police have known that he was seeing her regularly, they have never challenged his continued denials and never gotten a search warrent to search his apartment. Why not? Because he is a Member of Congress, and in the District of Columbia, that means that he is above almost any legal action. The only reason that the beat and case level police have been allowed to push the case as far as they have is that the Levy family has raised such a stink and that the media has focussed on it an upon Condit's implausible denials and actions. So, here we have clowns that the police must protect from kooks and nutbars but who are not responsible to the police for their own misdeeds, and the beat cop gets very frustrated with it.

So, bottom line of the story is not to mess with them. For whatever reason, they have very little patience, especially with someone whom they consider to be armed.
 
Originally posted by FullerH
As I have pointed out many times, DC has a 3" limit.

Virginia, as a state is pretty open about it, but the Professor, who is fron Richmond, warns that they are very strong about their 3" limit there. He says that they test by folding a dollar bill in half and, if the blade is longer than that, too bad, you lose. (It is not a bad idea to remember in any state, actually, that local ordnances also control what you may and may not carry.)
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Thanks for the info. Sounds like the 2.9" Pikuni is a good carry knife for DC, especially since one may want to go into Virginia - very accessible by Metro.


Alan
 
Originally posted by FullerH
....Take the Chandra Levy case, for example. Congressman Gary Condit has been interviewed by the police three times and it is only on the third time that he bothers to tell them that he has been having an affair with this girl who has been missing for ten weeks, and, although the police have known that he was seeing her regularly, they have never challenged his continued denials and never gotten a search warrent to search his apartment. Why not? Because he is a Member of Congress, and in the District of Columbia, that means that he is above almost any legal action. The only reason that the beat and case level police have been allowed to push the case as far as they have is that the Levy family has raised such a stink and that the media has focussed on it an upon Condit's implausible denials and actions
Click to expand...

You forgot to mention the media's mantra:
"We just want to point out that Congressman Condit is not a suspect"
 
Originally posted by Alan Antopol


Thanks for the info. Sounds like the 2.9" Pikuni is a good carry knife for DC, especially since one may want to go into Virginia - very accessible by Metro.


Alan
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Actually that 3" stuff was about Richmond, VA which is about 100 miles south of the nearest Metro stop. In the rest of VA, just don't carry a concealed dirk, dagger, Bowie, or Arkansas toothpick, in addition to the usual auto knives, gravity knives, etc. Any of the folders you list would be fine, or even the Stiff Kiss. I find the best solution is a CONCEALED Delica whenever I am on the wrong side of the Potomac, and I add an Endura and a Keltec or two when I remain safe here on the correct side of the Potomac.
 
The Pikuni is a fixed blade, and that is a no-no in DC. Stay away from them and stick with folders. That is why I love my Gunting, even if my use is really (honest!) as a utility knife.
 
Originally posted by FullerH
The Pikuni is a fixed blade, and that is a no-no in DC. Stay away from them and stick with folders. That is why I love my Gunting, even if my use is really (honest!) as a utility knife.
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Hugh - Thanks - How can I shrink the blade of my Carnivore Cub by 1/4"?

Alan
 
i look on with jealousy at the near-sword length blade limits of other states and cities. here in Chicago, we have an illinois state limit of 3 inches, and a municipal Chicago limit of get this: 2.5". that means pretty much any knife you have, including the plastic knife you get from the bagel shop tp smear the cream cheese is ILLEGAL! there is also case law that has the court of appeals upholding convictions of armed violence based on having a blade that exceeeds 2.5" while committing another crime. thta's why i carry a fixed blade Mini Talon (2.25" blade) and just got an Umfaan at 2.3". pretty silly stuff here eh?
 
You can check, but I think the Illinois law actually states that a knife must at least be 3" to be considered a weapon. The does not, however, prevent someone from carrying a knife of any length. THe catch is that you cannot carry it as a weapon. Therefore, one could carry a Sifu and say that it is for fishing or cutting boxes and you would not be in violation of the law. I'm sure, however, that the way the law is written, LEOs will interpret it differently in different areas. My guess is that in the Chicago area, cops will not be easy on big knives. I'm glad I live in Southern Illinois!
 
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