Maryland Knife Law Question

With respect to switchblade ownership, sales and carry in Maryland (MD) --

Legal to own.
Legal to carry openly,
Illegal to conceal carry.
Illegal to sell in MD.

Aside - is a balisong considered to be the same as a switchblade - No.

Per one of the best switchblade laws compilations ---

http://weaponlaws.wikidot.com/us-switchblade-laws

 

I live in harford county I personally wouldn't carry an Auto in MD. That is what started the Freddy Gray incident. Even though he was carrying an assisted opening.

 

But I'm not the guy with enough money to buy that sexy MicroTech. So maybe I can't put myself in your shoes! Anti Auto laws suck! My waved Cold Steel Recon1 is faster than an auto! Not to kick a dead horse, just blow off some steam.

 

Gray's assisted opener started trouble because of Baltimore Cities municipal code, which uses a more over-inclusive definition of switchblade and prohibits even the mere possession, regardless of concealment.

And yes, I can confirm zzyzzogeton's info*: Autos are legal to own and carry openly, but illegal to carry concealed or offer for sale. It should noted that unless you physically leave the state of MD, any company willing to sell you the knife are in violation of the law, because importing autos from foreign countries or selling them over state lines is against federal law. While this is routinely ignored and unenforced mostly, it is still the law.

*Namely because I wrote it. Yes that is my website and it is updated regularly when I learn of new law changes. I'm also a MD native.

 

glistam, thank you for putting the effort into that site and in maintaining it. It is my "go to" page when ever I am asked about the legality of switchblades.

I see you have a baton page on there. Are you working on a balisong page?

 

Thanks!

I hadn't thought about until now, but that's an idea. The trouble is balisongs are a trickier knife type to research, because they are almost never named outright, but rather are implied by statutory language alluding to "centrifugal force" or similar nonsense about flipping or gravity that in some cases was probably intended to be about German gravity knives post WWII. I've also noted that police officers can be infuriatingly ignorant about balisongs, to the point where arrests or confiscations occur only to be reversed by the high courts (See Thompson v Commonwealth of VA) and the vagueness of the law is such that the officer is not held accountable. So I guess I'm worried about the utility of such a project.

 

Yes, but.... maybe you could compile a partial list of the hard facts and tweek it along the line.

As an example, balis are legal to own and carry, open or concealed in Texas, with no edge or length restrictions. The chart might have a ton of question marks, but could be useful in limited locations.

 

That's a valid point. I could start the bones of it at least and fill in the parts that are known for sure.

EDIT: Here is the beginning. I'll add to it a little at a time.
http://weaponlaws.wikidot.com/us-balisong-laws

 

Illegal to sell? I used to see them at the Timonium show for sale.

 

I've been to that show and saw it too. But that doesn't make it legal. The sellers in many cases are from out of state and/or *very* ignorant about knife laws. But because it's a show and not an established business, it's hard for them to get caught. Even if there are cop customers, they likely consider the statute below to be extremely low priory, especially since guys that go to custom knife shows are the least likely to use a knife for violence. Most knife-wielding criminals use cheap or stolen kitchen knives.

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2018RS/Statute_Web/gcr/4-105.pdf

Note how the law has No military or law enforcement exception either.

 

Eh, sort of. If you look at the listing, the only two certified dealers in the state have the exact same address, an junky little auction house way out in St. Leonard that rents temporary retail space. Also not all of microtech's products are autos.

I just want to emphasize, the law is the law. Just because people break it doesn't change what the law is. But hey, if they're selling autos illegally, it's their risk and not yours if you buy.

 

What does Maryland consider open and concealed carry?

 

Concealment is a notoriously difficult concept in law to spell out in easy-to-understand terms. However, Maryland does have case law about concealment 1966's Shipley v. State, quoted again in 2007's Polk v State.

The judge in Polk further clarified:

In Polk, the officer was able to see a knife, and recognize it as a knife, while standing outside a car. The court ruled this is not concealed.

 

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So, if the clip and butt of my Microtech are visible at the top of my pocket, it's not concealed?