Georgia laws

[dav1449]

Hopefully someone can help me with the laws in Georgia regarding a child of the age of 8 having knives. What is legal, what is not. Specifically 3 1/2 inch and 2 inch curved blades and butterfly knives.

Thanks

 

[calebg8723]

Hopefully someone can help me with the laws in Georgia regarding a child of the age of 8 having knives. What is legal, what is not. Specifically 3 1/2 inch and 2 inch curved blades and butterfly knives.

Thanks

No age related knife laws in Georgia that I'm aware of. What is legal for an adult is legal for a child, at least under state law. I can't speak to your particular municipality, as you haven't listed it. They may have more restrictive laws on posession. Just remember, as the adult, you are responsible for what your child does with their knives. If they do something stupid, YOU get sued, or worse yet YOU face jailtime.

As to the overall legality of those two knives, Georgia prohibits the carrying any knife greater than a length of two inches within 1000 feet of school, unless your property lies within that boundary. Outside of that, there are no length restrictions, only an extremely vague prohibition on the concealed carry of any knife "designed for the purpose of offense or defense", or any knife classified as a dangerous weapon. I believe that includes switchblades, gravity knives and a few others. The phrase "designed for the purpose of offense or defense" is terribly vague, and can lead to any number of problems with the law.

I wouldn't let a child carry an intimidating looking knife if I were you. Where you might face a Law Enforcement Officer and be able to support your claim that it is not "designed for offense or defense," an eight year old is not going to have the same ability. Remember that you can be charged for contributing to the delinquency of a minor or endangering a child if the Officer feels like you have neglected the safety of your child, regardless of whether you have or not. The charge may be thrown out it court when you demonstrate the legality of your knife, but the charge is nonetheless a permanent part of your record, and may cause problems for you in the future.

My best advice for you is to never let you child carry an intimidating looking blade. Specifically, curved blades, exotics, serrated edges, assisted openers, balisongs, butterflies, etc. Anything an officer might construe as dangerous could land you in legal trouble, not to mention problems with a fellow parent who is freaked out about your child carrying weapons.

If I were in your situation, I would not allow my child to carry anything with a blade longer than two inches. A Swiss Army Knife is sufficient to any childs needs. If you insist on a locker, keep the blade under two inches, and I reccomend a lock back, not a liner lock. Little kids are always the most adept and moving their hands out of the way and liner locks have the lock right in the line of fire. Also, I have seen them fail and nearly had a friend lose a finger when it happened.

Use your best judgement. If it isn't legal for you to have it, they can't. If its questionable, don't let them carry it. If it looks intimidating in your hands, it looks likes a dangerous safety hazard in theirs to any law enforcement officer around. Finally, make sure they know a little bit about knife safety before you so much as hand them a swiss army knife.