Knife Laws

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richard thurman

Joined
Nov 9, 2005
Messages
2,714
why is it that every one that post a question about carrying a knife hidden does not just call up there DA office to find out what there state laws say?? how is some one across the united states going to know what there state laws says??
can some one please help me out with this??
 
I kind of wondered the same thing but did not want to step on folk's toes or feelings. Pa has and oddly written knife/self defense carry law, so I went down to the Staties' Barracks and asked them lol .
 
Before you even start looking at knives, you have to know the laws in your area! But.......someone might be visiting an area and need some advice from someone that lives there. I personally know the laws in my area very well, better than a random person at the DA office who would look it up and leave the interpretation up to you. It doesn't bother me at all when someone asks me about the laws here
 
NonDairy said:
I kind of wondered the same thing but did not want to step on folk's toes or feelings. Pa has and oddly written knife/self defense carry law, so I went down to the Staties' Barracks and asked them lol .
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And what did they say?
 
I know the laws in mine as well I can given how vague they actually are. A lot is left up to the individual interpretation of the LEO and/or the court system along with the average citizen.

It shall be unlawful for any person, except when on his own premises, willfully and intentionally to carry concealed about his person any bowie knife, dirk, dagger... razor... or other deadly weapon of like kind. This section does not apply to an ordinary pocket knife carried in a closed position. As used in this section, "ordinary pocket knife" means a small knife, designed for carrying in a pocket or purse, which has its cutting edge and point entirely enclosed by its handle, and that may not be opened by a throwing, explosive, or spring action.
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That's my local knife law in a nutshell. As long as it's not concealed and fits within this very loose description of what is and isn't permitted for carry, you're normally okay.
 
JSMcustoms said:
I know the laws in mine as well I can given how vague they actually are. A lot is left up to the individual interpretation of the LEO and/or the court system along with the

That's my local knife law in a nutshell. As long as it's not concealed and fits within this very loose description of what is and isn't permitted for carry, you're normally okay.
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Wow! At least my laws give a length limit to work within
 
Ernie1980 said:
Wow! At least my laws give a length limit to work within
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I know what you mean. I just go with the general under four inch blade rule for folders. Not that you really have much to worry about in my area if your knife's a little on the large side. The LEO's in this area are generally nice people that will respect both you and your rights as long as you show them the same respect and don't act like a jerk toward them. And honestly, if they're giving you trouble about the knife you have on you, that's probably the least of your worries anyhow.
 
richard thurman said:
why is it that every one that post a question about carrying a knife hidden does not just call up there DA office to find out what there state laws say?? how is some one across the united states going to know what there state laws says??
can some one please help me out with this??
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The statutory law of a state is what it is. The written laws of each state are available free online, and anyone can look them up if they know where to look. Granted, the person asking on this forum should be doing that themselves, but I would wager a lot of were simply unaware of the aforementioned online statutes. Other forum members who do know should point to those official published statutes. The fact that I live 500 miles away in another state has no impact on the fact that the laws of your state simply are what they are.

The reason they should not be calling the DA up is usually the DA him or herself is not going to answer a random phone call. There's no guarantee you're getting a person in their office who is an actual attorney and even knows what their doing. Further, some DAs simply give glib overly-cautious answers (that is, they claim the law is more restrictive than it actually is) or refuse to answer at all for fear that if the asker were to get arrested, it would make them liable in some way, or at the very least would let a person off the hook who should have been prosecuted due to the flawed what they described it. It is generally an even worse idea to ask an police officer, due to the numerous instances of officers being flat-out wrong on what the law is.
 
glistam is correct here in that most DA's don't respond to these questions in great detail ( unless it is a very small office). They will almost always tell you a stricter version of the law than what is really written and or enforced.
 
glistam said:
The statutory law of a state is what it is. The written laws of each state are available free online, and anyone can look them up if they know where to look. Granted, the person asking on this forum should be doing that themselves, but I would wager a lot of were simply unaware of the aforementioned online statutes. Other forum members who do know should point to those official published statutes. The fact that I live 500 miles away in another state has no impact on the fact that the laws of your state simply are what they are.

The reason they should not be calling the DA up is usually the DA him or herself is not going to answer a random phone call. There's no guarantee you're getting a person in their office who is an actual attorney and even knows what their doing. Further, some DAs simply give glib overly-cautious answers (that is, they claim the law is more restrictive than it actually is) or refuse to answer at all for fear that if the asker were to get arrested, it would make them liable in some way, or at the very least would let a person off the hook who should have been prosecuted due to the flawed what they described it. It is generally an even worse idea to ask an police officer, due to the numerous instances of officers being flat-out wrong on what the law is.
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then how come every time I need to know if a switchblade is allowed in there state I call them up and get a person that give me the statue of the law that says one way or the other??
 
richard thurman said:
then how come every time I need to know if a switchblade is allowed in there state I call them up and get a person that give me the statue of the law that says one way or the other??
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If you were able to get to talk to someone who gave you an accurate answer, then good for you, I'd say you were lucky. Not everyone is so lucky.

Just curious, but what county DA's offices did you call and what states were they in?

Heck, why should anyone on this forum ever ask questions about a knife they're thinking of buying, they should just call the manufacturer for all the info they want. After all, the people who make the knife would certainly know more about the knife than anyone on this forum and would certainly provide unbiased information, right? Who needs Bladeforums.
 
killgar said:
If you were able to get to talk to someone who gave you an accurate answer, then good for you, I'd say you were lucky. Not everyone is so lucky.


Just curious, but what county DA's offices did you call and what states were they in?
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richard thurman said:
I called the state of Illinois and they told me only the police officers and active military can carry and buy them.
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Richard, killgar could be right, so how do you know they gave you the right answer? Maybe they told you what they wish were true -- that "civilians" shouldn't have knives.

When I was on Grand Jury duty in NYC, I learned all I need to know about District Attorneys. I won't make negative assumptions about an individual who may be honest but I see no reason to trust them simply by virtue of their office.
 
richard thurman said:
I called the state of Illinois and they told me only the police officers and active military can carry and buy them.
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It looks like they gave you correct information. Here's a link to Illinois state laws regarding switchblades- http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilc...hapterID=53&SeqStart=68200000&SeqEnd=71300000 It doesn't surprise me, most states take a harsh position on "switchblades".

For reasons already mentioned by others, I tend to be suspicious of legal advice regarding knives given by members of law enforcement. This is not a knock against law enforcement, but it is certainly conceiveable that they may have a prejudice against people carrying knives, and they might say things just to try and convince them not to carry them.

It should be remembered that unless a member of law enforcement, whether they are a DA, ADA, police chief, or a cop on the street, is in a courtroom and sworn under oath that they have no obligation whatsoever to tell you the truth. A cop on the street or a person on the phone at the DA's office is free to tell you whatever they want regarding the law and they will face no repercussions if the information they give you is wrong. This may sound cynical, but it's the truth.

When discussing matters of the law on this forum, I always try to remember to advise people to read their local laws for themselves and consult a criminal defense attorney. Of course, even that won't garuntee a right answer. Good luck to us all.
 
they gave me the statue that said what the law was. they where very helpful. they are not the bad guys. they just didn’t say they where not allowed and that was it. they gave me the statue and ask if there was any thing else they could do for me.
 
Join National Switchblade Association on Facebook. A non profit knife rights organization htats free to join!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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