Florida knife regulations

Dijos said:
whenever concealed carry is legislated, open carry becomes illegal. There are counties spread around the south that allow you to carry anything openly, they are not in florida.
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ok. then what about all the outdoor knives (usually large, serrated, fixed-blades) so many Floridians carry when hicking, camping, etc. or even what about diving knives which are often seen not only off-shore but also in State Parks which have (great) springs and/or caves in which divers like to practice?

Could a Floridian be arrested, charged and sentenced to one year in jail (carrying a illegal weapon is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail) for "openly carrying" such a knife while enjoying Florida's nature?!
 
Tnozh, while Florida law doesn't say anything about blade length, specific municipalities can sometimes make more restrictive laws. One of the few things I like about Canadian knife laws - they are all federal.
 
Hi DDGator!

I cannot thank you enough for this extremely interesting document! I have only glanced through it, but it is clearly a key reference for Floridian jurisprudence on this issue.

If you find anything further - please let us know!

Kind regards,

TN
 
Thanks for that document, but reading just the first part of it makes me :mad:! A knife not having a lock is a "safety feature"?!? Morons.
 
DDGator said:
Actually, Florida case law does have some discussion of blade length.

Read the following case for a discussion of the "common pocketknife" definition:

http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc01-297/op-sc01-297-remand.pdf

Unfortunately, the answer appears to be (if this is still good law) -- it depends. The knife in this case was 2.5 to 3 inches in length -- and not deemed a "common pocketknife."
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ok. I finally read the entire thing. There are a couple of interesting points here, assuming I understood the legaleze correctly:

The Florida courts do not agree on what constitutes a "common pocket knife". Some courts and some experts have claimed that it is a knife with a blade of less than 4" which can be carried in a regular pocket (makes sense to me). Others have claimed that it is for a jury to determine this (makes *no* sense to me). The bad news is that the latter group has, so far, received the non-unanimous backing for the Florida Supreme Court (there were quite solid dissenting opinions). In one key case, a jury did find an defendent guilty of possessing a "weapon" with a blade of less than 4", but it has to be noted that this weapon was retreived from the defendent while he was committing a burglary (but *not* using his knife in any way) and that he had many precedents. At the trial of this guy, some retard copper defined his knife as a weapon rather than a "common pocket knife" because its balde could be locked. Why this idiot was accepted as an expert is not indicated. However, his testimony, the instructions to the jury, the fact that the defendent had a really bad record and, later, a contested Florida Supreme Court decision resulted in a really, really ambiguous and highly unfair jurisprudence: they can lock you up for pretty much anything they want (think about it, a mail opener or cutter could now fall under the definition of "weapon", in particular if an arresting cop or some so-called "expert" choose to see it this way).

And Florida is supposed to be a pro-weapons state?!?!?

Cheers!

TN
 
I live here in Pensacola, Fl. and they have a local tv show called "Blue Lights" were footage is taken of local police from Mobile to Destin doing thier duty. I have seen on more than one occasion when they were searching suspected perps in Fl. that they had a leatherman or similiar pocket tool in thier pocket instead of the sheath. This was after the cop had asked the perp if they had any weapons on them.
In most cases the cop stated that they were going to be charged with a concealed weapons violation since the pocket tool contained knife blades. In other cases the cop did not care. Seems that it is up to the individual policeman as to the legality of the item. It is also much more difficult and costly to get a CCW in Fl. than it is Ga. or Al. or most states that they have reprocity with. I could actually get an out of state CCW with Fl. when living in Ga. easier and cheaper than it would be as a Fl. resident. This was back in 97, the laws may have changed by now.
 
I was once in a car stopped by the Pensacola PD (driver was driving with a suspended license or some such nonsense). I happened to have my Cold Steel Tanto in a bag with me, and answered "No" when they asked if we had any illegal weapons in the car. They then searched the car, found the knife, and asked why I hadn't said anything about it. I replied that since the knife wasn't illegal, I had answered correctly. I also warned the officer that it was sharp since he was in the process of removing it from the sheath. He muttered something like "It's up to us to decide if it's illegal," put it back in the sheath, and returned it to my bag. Nothing more was said concerning the knife.
 
First, let me say that I am a knifemaker and haved lived here since I was 3.There are no laws concerning open carry.I have carried a belt knife for over thirty years with the last 14 being a medium sized fixed blade.I carry everyday and everywhere except places like courts, or theme parks that don't allow them( which I don't go to anyway).I have never had any problems with anyone or any LEO's. In fact I have only been asked about it by some who enjoy custom knives or are interested in purchasing one.Blade length is also not an issue on fixed blades.I also want to say that I don't live in a rural area either.I lve on the central East coast in a Beachside community which is made up of alot of retiree's and snowbirds.
As far as folders, I carry everyday a Leatherman, a small Spyderco, and one of my Friction folders.I am not sure if Dade county(Miami) has certain restrictions but I wouldn't doubt it.I did visit South Beach a few years ago and carried my fixed blade there right in front of numerous LEO's.
I also know that the law against having Auto's was knocked down.
The main thing is common sense.If your in doubt don't carry it until you know and don't display it in a threatening manner and you won't have problems.As stated before, most who get nailed on knife charges have 4or5 other charges pending which is why they got arrested for in the first place.The knife charge is just thrown in for extra weight.
Regards,Dave
 
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