Chive a "deadly weapon" in Wichita

acourvil

acourvil

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I think there are a couple of law enfocement officers in Kansas that should have more important things to do.
 
acourvil

I'm not a member of KO's forum, but you should have him contact us for some info that can assist him.
 
Isn't the Chive one of the smallest AO's Kershaw makes? I'm glad I don't live in Wichita, but I bet next time he will walk back to his car to put his knife away- if he even has it with him in the first place.
 
Man, I've been carrying a Chive everyday for over a year now. I hope I don't run into Po Po anytime soon.
 
Personally, I'd go to Wal Mart and buy one of each AO Kershaws they have. If there is more than one Wal Mart in town, I'd do the same at each one. Then, with the receipt(s), I'd show up at the CA's office, and demand that the Wal Mart employee(s) that sold you the knives, along with his/her supervisor(s), store manager(s) and district manager be arrested for selling "illegal" knives. That might stop it in it's tracks...

But sometimes it's not good to listen to what I'd do...........

EDIT: Well, at least it got me signed up at Ken's site...
 
Post #3 from the link
Thank you for the reply. The paragraph you posted is the exact citation I received. Notice that "selling" is #1 in the list of offenses. I went to Walmart last night and they have the Chive, Leek, and several others with assisted opening functions available for sale. How can a store sell something that is illegal to purchase (#2 in the list) and possess (#3)? I asked that question during the interrogation, and was told that you can find a crack pipe for sale in places, but that doesn't make it legal. When is the last time you've seen a crack pipe for sale at Walmart? Mine was a gift from my father-in-law, and I thought nothing of it. I was also told that ignorance of the law is no excuse for law breaking.

How is someone expected to know every little city ordinance on the books? I guess we should all start reading them. A page per day should help you get to sleep every night.
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We have the same problem in Canada, the item is "technically" illegal, but readily available for purchase (this applies to any knife that can be flicked open up here).
In my opinion the difference between the drugs and the knife is that you pay taxes on one of them, making it government endorsed.
Drugs are illegal, no taxes. Knives are legal, and bought normally with the governments permission.

I don't know what an officer would say to that, but it's a pretty convincing argument in my mind.
 
I feel sorry for the guy, but let's get real, this is just another reason to leave your stuff in the car when you go into a government building. I'm sure he meant no harm, and probably forgot, but since 9/11 everything is suspect. You can't blame the LEO's, they're just doing their job. Just because you can find them for sale at WalMart (like a CO2 pistol) doesn't mean you can carry it in a government building. He should explain his mistake and error in judgement and forgetfulness to the court, apologize to everybody from the Judge on down to God, and hope for a little community service.
 
He wasn't arrested for carrying a knife into a government building. They didn't arrest him when he told them he had one. They arrested him later when they thought about it and decided the knife itself was illegal.

It is absurd that he should be expected to apologize for carrying a small, convenient tool. There is scarcely a less intimidating knife available than a tiny Chive.
 
:jerkit: but the fact of the matter is, you gotsta know your laws... and even if you don't, let's just assume we leave our toys outside goverment buildings
 
Why is the government in more danger from a couple of inches of metal than a supermarket is?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know -- we used to be Americans, but now we gotta learn to grovel ...
 
Esav Benyamin said:
He wasn't arrested for carrying a knife into a government building. They didn't arrest him when he told them he had one. They arrested him later when they thought about it and decided the knife itself was illegal.

It is absurd that he should be expected to apologize for carrying a small, convenient tool. There is scarcely a less intimidating knife available than a tiny Chive.
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The point is, he got arrested anyway, didn't he? No amount of conjecturing on this forum is going to get him off the hook. Leave it in the car.

It's not grovelling, it's using your head.

Ya know, this probably got written up in the local media, and somebody is thinking "Oh my god, people are carrying dangerous knives to threaten public officials. There should be a law against that!"
 
Sadly it's things like this that have almost convinced me to put my AOs out to pasture. Most municipalities have very similar laws on the books and the line between an assisted opener and a switchblade is pretty razor thin. All it takes is an overzealous LEO or prosecutor to make your life very miserable over such a petty issue. Whether or not you win out in the end you'll still be out some serious time and cash trying to set things right.
 
Coldwood, he didn't bring the knife inside. He revealed it himself and said he'd take it back to the car if necessary. He was arrested because someone considered the knife illegal.

Apologizing for having a knife he had every reason to believe was legal would be groveling.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Coldwood, he didn't bring the knife inside. He revealed it himself and said he'd take it back to the car if necessary. He was arrested because someone considered the knife illegal.

Apologizing for having a knife he had every reason to believe was legal would be groveling.
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Esav, he said he came in the door to a security checkpoint, attempting to enter, and that's where things went south. I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago, I was carrying a scout knife, fortunately the deputies let me leave it there and pick it up on the way out. Since then, I always leave my blades in the car. Call it grovelling if you want, I don't care, but I'm not going to get arrested over it. I think hasseling with the law and courts over a knife is more trouble than it's worth.

Edit: As far as LEOs having more important things to do, if they're assigned to building security they're probably looking at retirement; the last thing they want on their watch is to have a judge or DA getting it's throat cut with an innocent little knife. And there are guys who get the bad end of a divorce or domestic dispute who might resort to that.
 
The main issue here is the legality of the knife and it does seem illegal due to the wording used in the law. I have a BIG issue with the sellers not being charged as they have to dollars to defend themselves and hopefully create useful case law that clears up wheter or not these are legal. This law alos bans any knife you can flick open !!! Pretty bad city law you have there !!!!!
 
Joshua J. said:
Post #3 from the link

We have the same problem in Canada, the item is "technically" illegal, but readily available for purchase (this applies to any knife that can be flicked open up here).
In my opinion the difference between the drugs and the knife is that you pay taxes on one of them, making it government endorsed.
Drugs are illegal, no taxes. Knives are legal, and bought normally with the governments permission.

I don't know what an officer would say to that, but it's a pretty convincing argument in my mind.
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Actually, Joshua, all of Kershaw's AO knives are legal under the Criminal Code of Canada. In fact, there is even a published Customs ruling that permits the import of AO knives. (See this thread.)
 
tom19176 said:
The main issue here is the legality of the knife and it does seem illegal due to the wording used in the law. I have a BIG issue with the sellers not being charged as they have to dollars to defend themselves and hopefully create useful case law that clears up wheter or not these are legal. This law alos bans any knife you can flick open !!! Pretty bad city law you have there !!!!!
Click to expand...

(1) Unlawful use of a weapon is knowingly:
(a) Selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing or carrying any bludgeon, sandclub, metal knuckles or throwing star, or any knife, commonly referred to as a switch-blade, which, having the appearance of a pocket knife, also has a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife, or by other mechanical contrivance, or any knife having a blade that opens or falls or is ejected into position by the force of gravity or by an outward, downward or centrifugal thrust or movement;

Now I am no expert, but the law above is really close to the wording in the Criminal Code of Canada. In Canada, AO knives are permitted because there is no actuating device on the handle of the knife. With Kershaw AO knives, the stud or 'flipper' is on the blade.
 
Coldwood said:
I feel sorry for the guy, but let's get real, this is just another reason to leave your stuff in the car when you go into a government building. I'm sure he meant no harm, and probably forgot, but since 9/11 everything is suspect. You can't blame the LEO's, they're just doing their job. Just because you can find them for sale at WalMart (like a CO2 pistol) doesn't mean you can carry it in a government building. He should explain his mistake and error in judgement and forgetfulness to the court, apologize to everybody from the Judge on down to God, and hope for a little community service.
Click to expand...

You make some good points. I forgot to mention that I wasn't even allowed to have a dummy bullet on my keychain at a courthouse one time, even though it will obviously not fire since the mount is run through where the primer used to be. At least I wasn't arrested for it:rolleyes::D
 
having the appearance of a pocket knife, also has a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife, or by other mechanical contrivance
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I don't know. :confused: It says "or by other mechanical contrivance". Sounds like a generic description that might cover AO's. :(

Wow. This is really a sad situation. I hope the guy gets this straightened out. If I'm going to an airport, sports arena, amusement park, night club, or government facility putting my knife away is one of my first thoughts. I agree with leaving it in the car but can see how it could be overlooked. This is one of the reasons I am reluctant to carry wallet knives or keychain knives. I may forget to remove the item before heading into a non-knife area.
 
TexasNativeDRJH said:
I forgot to mention that I wasn't even allowed to have a dummy bullet on my keychain at a courthouse one time, even though it will obviously not fire since the mount is run through where the primer used to be. At least I wasn't arrested for it:rolleyes::D
Click to expand...

I had the same situation a few years back. I put my NRA Silver Bullet on my key ring. Had a few long looks at the federal building's security screening. Thankfully, one of the deputies there was familiar with it and let me pass without any hassles...

But in the state in question, doesn't it say something about being fixed to the handle? I can think of one particular knife from my favorite manufacturer where this might be an issue, as the flipper isn't fixed to the blade, it's a part of the handle...
 
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