How many people carry there knives illegally

Every time I look at you, SHS, you've upgraded a notch in the BF system... were you planning to be a Super Moderator by the end of the month? :D

:on topic: I carry all of my knives legally... as of now. But I just ordered an automatic, which is not legal in Indiana, but in my defense, I'm moving back home to Minnesota, where I can legally own it, just not carry it around. Probably will anyway. A Benchmite doesn't really look like an auto, and it's really little.
 
I walked across a college campus in Los Angeles last week carrying a 3.5" tactical blade in my pants. Should I turn myself in to the authorities?
 
I have no idea.

I know ignorance of the law is no defense but, if that's the case, why do we have so many lawyers arguing over what the statutes really mean.

Even when I'm not carrying a knife (which is seldom), I'm probably breaking any number of laws without knowing it. I don't lose sleep over it.
 
There is never a good reason to try to carry a knife in an illegal manner.

There are just so many different knife designs that are within the laws, and there are just so many ways to carry a blade that conforms to the given laws that there is no way to support the idea that carrying in an illegal manner is acceptable.

I think that the guys that run around with a knife or other weapon that is being carried in a illegal manner are just acting like little children and are playing with trouble.

As a parent, I teach my sons to learn what is the good and right way to act even when no one knows or is watching them.
 
Maybe so, but who decided that some knives are wrong and some knives are right? Not all laws are reasonable or morally correct. I would not be harming anyone or posing any danger to anyone by carrying a knife that's 2.01" in California as opposed to 1.99". Or by carrying an automatic in New York City.
 
madcap_magician said:
Maybe so, but who decided that some knives are wrong and some knives are right? Not all laws are reasonable or morally correct. I would not be harming anyone or posing any danger to anyone by carrying a knife that's 2.01" in California as opposed to 1.99". Or by carrying an automatic in New York City.
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Who decided?
The People do.
Via their elected representives or by direct voteing on matters.
We dont have a king.

The laws that govern the state of California were sure not writen here in North Dakota!.

The laws of your state are Your state's laws....

It is then the duty of the police and the courts to enforce the laws that the people pass.

If you decided to break a law you should then also be ready to stand before the Law and be ready to take what the law says will be the result of breaking the law.

As far as I can see, there is NEVER a good reason to break the knife laws in your state. As a parent myself, I try to raise my kids up with a heart that seeks to do the correct lawfull thing even if no one is watching.

The idea that "Whats the harm?" behind the breaking of a known knife law is always going to be teaching the wrong thing, the wrong way to act, the wrong way to live.

I want my kids to keep the laws where they live so as to be a credit to the way I raised them. I totally reject the idea that carrying an "automatic" weapon is morally correct just because this or that guy thinks it is.

We dont live in a country where our laws are enforced on people who agree with them at the time.

We dont allow people to make up their own trafic laws about what side of the road they would rather drive on do we?

We dont allow people to disregard the law because we know this would lead to the breakdown of our whole world...

The State does not bear the sword in vain...

Thus I say again, there is never a good reason to seek to break a known knife law...
 
The people who've decided that illegal aliens are actually "undocumented immigrants" and that we shouldn't bother them because they're coming to "do the jobs Americans don't want to do" are the same people who decide which knives we can legally carry.
 
DaQo'tah Forge said:
Who decided?
The People do.
Via their elected representives or by direct voteing on matters.
We dont have a king.
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In theory. Actually, we elect representatives, and they, for the most part, never asked any of the people before they made that sort of law, and when they do, there is very little reasonable discussion, otherwise all of our laws would be reasonable, which they aren't.

DaQo'tah Forge said:
The laws that govern the state of California were sure not writen here in North Dakota!.
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Thank God.

DaQo'tah Forge said:
If you decided to break a law you should then also be ready to stand before the Law and be ready to take what the law says will be the result of breaking the law.
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I am ready to do that. I honestly and sincerely believe that silly laws, existing for no discernable benefit and which disrupt my personal preferences as a law-abiding citizen not harming anyone else with my preferences, are ethically wrong. However, they are the law, and if, heaven forbid, I'm ever caught, I won't try to duck out of it, because the law is still the law.

DaQo'tah Forge said:
As far as I can see, there is NEVER a good reason to break the knife laws in your state. As a parent myself, I try to raise my kids up with a heart that seeks to do the correct lawfull thing even if no one is watching.
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And I respect that. When I'm a parent, I'll teach my children to do what they think is right, even if no one else thinks it, even if it's illegal, and even if I disagree with it. I will also teach them to be responsible for those beliefs. If they choose to put their money where their mouths are and break what they feel is an immoral law, I will not shield them from the consequences of their actions, but I will support their right to have their own opinions and live their lives accordingly.

DaQo'tah Forge said:
The idea that "Whats the harm?" behind the breaking of a known knife law is always going to be teaching the wrong thing, the wrong way to act, the wrong way to live.

I want my kids to keep the laws where they live so as to be a credit to the way I raised them. I totally reject the idea that carrying an "automatic" weapon is morally correct just because this or that guy thinks it is.
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I don't think carrying an automatic is morally correct. But I think I should be able to, because it is not morally incorrect and because it harms no one. It's not that I'm saying the main idea is that no one is getting harmed, my main objection is that I believe no law should be in place that does not serve to protect and serve the people. I feel that way very strongly.

DaQo'Tah Forge said:
We dont live in a country where our laws are enforced on people who agree with them at the time.

We dont allow people to make up their own trafic laws about what side of the road they would rather drive on do we?

We dont allow people to disregard the law because we know this would lead to the breakdown of our whole world...
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And sometimes that's a good thing. Laws should occasionally be broken down. The people are another set of checks and balances on the legislature. By your reasoning, there should not be civil rights today because at one point discrimination was law. Laws change, and in many cases, they should.

All that being said, I want you to know that I have a great deal of respect for you now. You have an opinion and you believe that you are morally correct in that opinion, and you're sticking to it. That's honorable.
 
The situation here in the UK is a bit tricky. Statute says a folding blade less than 3" is OK, but case law says that a locking blade is not a folder.

I currently carry a Gerbertool M4, which is a keyring multitool with a tiny locking blade. If it ever becomes an issue I intend to fight for it in court. I figure my chances of winning are best with this tool because it is small and "obviously" not intended a weapon.

I have in the past carried a Swiss Tool, which is a much bigger locking multitool, albeit still within the 3" limit. I stopped carrying that partly because it was too heavy, but partly also for legal reasons. I'd also fight for the Swiss Tool - I believe the case law is a misinterpretation of what the statute intended - but if I could pick the battlefield I'd rather it was the M4.

Apart from that I am pretty law abiding. I have both RSKs, and normally carry neither, partly for legal reasons.
 
madcap_magician said:
Every time I look at you, SHS, you've upgraded a notch in the BF system... were you planning to be a Super Moderator by the end of the month? :D
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Y'know, that's a good idea. I think I'll call Spark :D .
 
DaQo'tah Forge said:
There is never a good reason to try to carry a knife in an illegal manner.
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Not even safety? Here any fixed or locking blade is illegal. Non-locking folders are dangerous. Use one long enough and you will get hurt. Which would you rather, a fine or a sliced finger?

A law which mandates dangerous practice is a bad law.
 
Yeeeeeeeees...

Even a cautious knife user can accidentally close a slipjoint in his fingers. Call it the X Factor or Murphy's Law or the Law of Averages. Sh*t happens. Especially if you lend your knife to someone who isn't familiar with it.

Personal preference is one thing; some people like slipjoints, some don't. But outlawing locking knives is dumb beyond comprehension. It's like outlawing safetys on firearms or seatbelts in cars.
 
The only knife law I have heard of in Georgia is in the city of Atlanta. Any knife with a blade of 3 or more inches, and locks, is illegal there.

Atlanta is the typical inner city. It is run by liberal Democrats who are corrupt and idiots. They have attempted to pass unconstitutional gun control laws, but state law over-ruled them.
 
In my foolish youth I carried whatever I wanted with no worry about laws. Along with my lifestyle - partying all hours of the night, running around with a bad group, etc... it was just a matter of time before I saw the inside of a jail - many times unfortunately. I fought the law, and the law won. :)

Fast forward 20 years and these days I would not carry an illegal knife, not worth the legal hassles. Living in Texas, I can legally carry up to a 5" blade so I find plenty of legal knifes that are more than capable of what I need. God forbid you actually get in a self-defense situation and have to use that "illegal" knife on you. What would otherwise be a good self-defense case could turn into a illegal weapons violation just because of your poor judgement or need to carry that cool "illegal" knife. It's not worth it.
 
I've had everyone and there mother tell me carrying something with a one and a half inch blade is illegal. I've also had a ton of people tell me 6 inches or over is illegal...

I was in the unfortunate position of having a police officer ask me what was in my pockets today because of my friend Pat being a goon with what the officer thought was a gun...It wasn't.

He looked over my 110, put it in his pocket and asked us some questions. A minute or so later another officer showed up, he took it out, showed him, asked if it was a Buck. We both said "ya" and he mentioned that it was a good knife. So he ended up handing it back and we were on our way.

However, i've met cops that would probably have came down hard on someone for having any knife. The least they would do is take it from you. So i think it depends on the person with the badge just as much as the knife you have. As for knife laws in general, they should really be made clearer, and better known to people.
 
madcap_magician said:
Maybe so, but who decided that some knives are wrong and some knives are right? Not all laws are reasonable or morally correct. I would not be harming anyone or posing any danger to anyone by carrying a knife that's 2.01" in California as opposed to 1.99". Or by carrying an automatic in New York City.
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Correct. Laws that create crimes out of things that aren't crimes, where there are no victims, are unconstitutional. Particularly any weapons-related laws.

Other examples would be prohibitions against marijuana use and prostitution. Not only that, they are often unequally enforced among social and economic classes.

They obviously violate the 2nd Amendment. There is no footnote for it that says "Only some arms may be kept and bared.".

We needed an amendment to prevent firearms restrictions because guns were the best military technology at the time and the best defense that citizens had. Certainly knives would be implicitly included even if you don't consider knives to be "arms".

The Founders couldn't envision something as ridiculous and irrational as knife prohibition.
 
It ultimately comes down to the LEO.IMO.Gray areas and gray lawyers abound.How much money do you have?
 
I was raised to be an ethical and moral person. I treat others with respect. I'll help those in genuine need. I am an ethical, honorable, and moral person. I simply don't spend a lot of time worrying about what's legal and what isn't. The law and ethics parted ways long ago. There are so many laws on the books that cover so many minute aspects of your lives that I feel quite confident in saying that we are all violators of criminal and/or civil law. Our judicial system was derailed from common sense decades ago and I'll be darned if I'm going to lose any sleep over whether or not I'm obeying every single silly law. Abide by the Constitution and respect your fellow humans and most the ailments of society simply disappear, IMHO. Yes, I understand that if you disobey the law you can be punished by some dips**t enforcer that doesn't have enough grey matter to interpret it's intent. However, I think that generally speaking, most reasonable, thinking people will not create a dramatic response to anyone who follows the intent of a law. Unfortunately, our society is full of dishonerable, dumba***s that can't discern proper respectful behavior. Even more unfortunately, some of those people are not just in the populace at large, but also in positions of power (both political and enforcement).

Funny little story that is an example of correct behavior versus legal behavior. My wife and I were driving down the road. I was in the front seat and she was in the back seat with my daughter. My daughter (very young at the time) was eating some snack my wife had given her and started choking. I saw what was happening and my wife panicked. She hollered, "What do I do?" I knew she was an "obey the rules without thinking kind of person" and was struggling with the fact that she could do nothing with my daughter strapped in a carseat, even though she has first aid training. I simply took charge of the situation and told her to take the girl out of the carseat and administer first aid for choking while I was pulling the car over. She did not need to wait until I was totally off the road with the hazard lights on and the engine off before unbuckling the choking child. Of course, she could easily remedy the choking when she could manipulate the child outside of the seat. Later, after the crisis, she said she realized it was silly to be paralyzed into non-action for fear of breaking the child restraint law. I told her it's just a law to protect the child, they don't vaporize the instant you chose to violate the law. In this case, taking her out to administer first aid for choking is the more ethically correct thing to do rather than wasting precious time waiting for the driver to satisfy the requirements of the law. This is an obvious example of what I'm talking about but it carries through into all aspects of our lives (which are regulated by criminal and civil laws). The law does not excuse us from thinking for ourselves on an ethical level, though it may excuse you from thinking for yourself from an enforcer and judge. Who is the more important judge in your life, the judicial system or your conscience. At one time, in the not so distant past, it was illegal for black people to drink from the same water fountains as whites. I'll be dam**d if I'd stand by and watch a thirsty hard working man or woman be denied water regardless of the law. The law is a fence for those who can't get over it.
 
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