in depth Knife laws

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Nebulae

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Aug 24, 2009
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Ok so we have been all around what blade size is legal in what state/contry and open vs concealed about 500 times here, not to mention thet the sticky post give all the information necessary. :rolleyes:
So I was thinking that chances are you are carrying a legal blade length for your state. however, what about educational campuses? can you even park your car on a school campus with large, but legal fixed blade. what if you are in school, or a minor? How about public buildings, or any other places you guys have been carrying a technically legal knife, but felt a little antsy? :confused:

And what are the consequences of carrying a unallowed (for lack of a better term) knife at school or wherever. They probably confiscate it, or if you in school get you in trouble. :confused:
 
The legality of knives on various types of school properties is generally covered by state laws too, and the statute is often the one coming right after the general statute on knives for the state.

Of note is that in some states "school" means k-12 only, some it includes college too. And in some states, the law applies to public schools, but not private.

There is another layer to this as well: The school's own policy. If there is no law per se prohibiting a particular knife, then a person cannot be prosecuted for a crime. But they CAN be disciplined by the school, which can include expulsion.

Remember that laws in the US are "tiered." Just because the level above has no law making something illegal, it does not prevent the level below that from doing so, unless the higher law "preempts" all laws below it (such as the federal law mandating that air guns and paint ball gun cannot be required to be marked with colored barrels)
 
see this Is my point it is rather unclear. school policy will probably get your knife confinscated. but what if you were just visiting? and if its in your car it wont be a problem right, unless you live in the Netherlands :D

oh and I live in Texas howd you guess. i know in tecas its not so bad but still education is filled with ex-hippies
 
Nebulae,

You need to tell us how old you are...it will effect the answer.

Texas law does not prohibit knives in schools. It does; however, prohibit the knives it has listed as "illegal knives" in schools.

Legal knives are.....legal. They can be carried any way you like.

Now, I know that some school districts have different rules, but they don't have authority to make their own laws, although that won't stop them from acting like they do. Nevertheless, it's better to find out the rules ahead of time. Especially if you are still haven't graduated from high school.
 
I suppose your right that would help allot, but I'm thinking more broadly and not just about school. for instance a public place such as parks, and sometimes the attached recreation center, or what have you. I was just down at Rice university the other day, and that got me thinking I was only carrying a 3" crappy knife but still. And besides in two years my situation will change,and then it will change again when i go to, and get out of college.
I'm 16
 
My own look into Texas law corroborates Joe-bob's comment: Texas does not, by force of state law, prohibit all knives from schools. Only knives that would otherwise have already been illegal even if off school property.
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.46.htm#46.03

Therefore it is a matter of school policy. So: If you are a student at a school, you must abide by the policy, or else face that schools internal consequences. If you are just visiting, it is my impression that, if in the extremely unlikely event that a knife you are carrying is discovered AND it happens to be prohibited, you can be asked to leave, and arrested for trespassing if you refuse to leave.
 
thanks guys and what is the max concealed length for texas i though it was 3.5" is that correct
 
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the school administration cannot actively enforce its policy on persons who are not under their direct authority, ie, students and staff.

they can, as mentioned, passively enforce policies by asking you to leave and notify police if you refuse. police can, of course, enforce any applicable weapons laws, but not necessarily school policy.

for example, our local school district has a "zero tolerance" policy regarding weapons. policy is not law, and education codes, which are law, don't typcially have an enforceable legal penalty other than fine and are not arrestable offenses.

ca does have laws prohibiting weapons on school campuses. there are sections that apply to k-12 and those that apply to colleges/universities. these laws preceded the current zero tolorance policy, which was intended to remove discretion from administrations.
 
Texas it's 5.5 inches including the choil, not 3.5. Texas has one of the largest legal blade lengths in the US, short of several states where there is no length limit at all (like Maryland).

That is, as long as the knife is not a throwing knife (or other throwing blade), a dagger (double edged), a bowie knife, a sword or a spear.
 
BTW---some parks have additional restrictions. Like Dallas city parks.

Universities can set their own policy, but I know that UNT follows the state law.
 
I know but that's for open Cary isn't it? is concealed the same cant find anything on that
 
No dude, the law in Texas doesn't involve concealment. If the knife is illegal, it's illegal concealed OR open carry. If its legal, it's legal concealed or open.

(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
carries on or about his person a handgun, illegal knife or club.
Click to expand...

All of the above of course is in the absence of a county or city law. I hear San Antonio is pretty darn rough on knives.
 
Try this link

http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/tx.txt

The Texas state law seems pretty good. Even the 5.5 inch law doesn't apply if one is engaged in lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting activity.

The law doesn't seem to say if school is only k-12 or also college/Universities. Anyone know?

The way Georgia law is written it looks like it would be illegal for a university dorm resident to have a butter knife in their own dorm room.
 
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