??legal transport??

G

grubbyft

Joined
Mar 14, 2001
Messages
11
i am a fantasy blade hobbyist i do much of my tinkering at work in my slack time and im wondering if its legal to carry my blades back and forth from work most are over 6in. any help would be apreciated.
 
I don't know what the specific laws (local and state) throughout the Texas panhandle say. Just to give you some very general advice though: If you wrap the knives up, put them in a box, and carry them in your trunk, you should usually be able to avoid any problems. Also, if a police officer stops you, don't say anything to incriminate yourself (don't tell the officer where you're going or where you came from, don't admit that you have "weapons" in the car, and don't consent to a search).



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Cerulean

"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off." - J.K.M.
 
5 1/2 inches is the maximum legal length for a knife to be carried in Texas. Here's a copy out of the Texas penal code that should cover what you are talking about. As long as the knives are not "on or about your person" which means not in the passenger compartment of the vehicle you should be ok. As for Cerulean's advice all I can say is the more evasive you are towards an officer the more suspicious he will become of you.

§ 46.02. Unlawful Carrying Weapons


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


(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.


(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree if the offense is committed on any premises licensed or issued a permit by this state for the sale of alcoholic beverages.

 
Hmm... I was about to say that the state law covered in the Texas Penal Code might be pretty meaningless if you're going to be traveling through different cities and counties that may have their own, more restrictive laws. However, it appears that in Texas, a local government is not allowed to make a weapons law that is more restrictive than the state law. Is this true?

The Texas Constitution says:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.</font>
Click to expand...
That seems to say that the right to bear arms is absolute until the state government, and only the state government, regulates it.

I couldn't find anything in the Local Government Code about weapons in general, but the code does prevent municipalities from adopting firearms regulations, although there are a few exemptions.
www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/lg/lg021500.html#lg001.215.001

I wish my state would restrict the abilities of local governments to make their own weapons laws. That would make life a whole lot easier!
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Regarding what to do if an officer stops you: the ACLU has a handy little "bustcard" that's sort of a cheat-sheet with advice on what do in encounters with the police. It may seem silly, but it's got a lot of good information that's quickly accessible. You can download it in PDF format, print it out, and keep a copy in your glove compartment to read if you get pulled over. www.aclu.org/issues/criminal/bustcardtext.html

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Cerulean

"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off." - J.K.M.
 
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