Colorado Knife Laws

[molinee]

Just moved to Colorado and have read the latest knife laws. The problem is who can understand these laws and how they are to be interpreted. It would appear that just about any knife you carry can be considered a weapon if they want to charge you with something. My question is.... If you are carrying a folder with a 3" blade in your pocket, is this considered to be a concealed weapon? And if so, how can you carry any knife in your pocket? I am assuming that the answer for this would be the same for carrying a 3" neck knife under your shirt. And the definition of a knife is anything over 3.5" inches so what do they call a knife less than this size?
Thanks for any help here!!

 

[Ascoe]

The definition of knife is the blade length limit - carrying anything over 3.5 inches (over the width of the policeman's palm, actually) is illegal. I'm not about to try to argue what concealed means in a court here, so I stick to blades under 3.5 for EDC mostly. Fixed blades are perfectly legal to conceal, they fall under the same restrictions as concealed folders. Autos are illegal, not sure about balisongs. (hopefully I won't have to find out)

The only legal way to carry over the limit is open carry or "sports use" - Hunting or Fishing.

In short, a knife under 3.5 inches is called "legal."

I have personally reviewed the colorado statutes, this is my best understanding. I believe the City of Denver has some tighter restrictions, so you may want to look for those.

 

[cerulean]

Dang… I had a long reply written, but Internet Explorer crashed before I could post it!

Anyway, my understanding is basically that knives with blades longer than 3.5 inches are weapons per se and illegal to carry concealed under CO State law. If the blade length is under 3.5”, then the knife may or may not be a weapon: it’s up to the courts to decide. If the prosecution proves that the knife is a weapon, it is illegal to carry concealed, even if the blade length is less than three and a half inches.

It is difficult for a prosecutor to prove that a knife is a weapon unless A.) The defendant who carried it actually used it as a weapon, or B.) The defendant freely admitted that it’s a weapon (e.g. - A police officer asks you why you need to carry a knife and you say it’s for self-defense). The design of the knife alone is not enough to prove that it’s a weapon.

Check out the Colorado Supreme Court decision, People v. A.P.E., from a couple of years ago. The first two paragraphs of the Opinion of the Court sum it up nicely. Also, as always, don’t trust things you read on the Internet (especially the stuff I write! LOL!) and consult a lawyer for the best advice.