New York State Automatic/Switchblade Laws?

[Batchellero]

Recently I bought a Bradly Kimura from Bladehq, to my prior knowledge, in new york state balisongs are legal to own illegal to carry, im pretty sure i was wrong and theyre just completely illegal. Anyway, to order it i had to select from a series of exceptions to the law and i selected the first one, just cause it had the word civilian in it:

"To civilian or Armed Forces supply or procurement officers and employees of the Federal Government ordering, procuring, or purchasing such knives in connection with the activities of the Federal Government"

Can anyone interpret what this means for me and what it means ive done by selecting this? I dont really care (but i will if anything ends up happening with the law so knock on wood) but I want to tell my girlfriend I want a UTX-70 OTF for my birthday I just dont want her to get in any trouble or anything if I tell her to select that option as well.

 

[richard thurman]

we cant tell you on how to break the law or how to find away around the law. I believe it is against the rules.

 

[glistam]

That line refers to the federal switchblade law, Title 15 Chapter 29, specifically 15 USC § 1244 which contains exceptions to the law. In brief, it is against federal law to sell switchblades over state lines, unless the person buying it is making the purchase solely on behalf of the United States Armed Forces for use by said Armed Forces. The only reason it says "civilian" is because Procurement Officers and Supply Officers can be non-military people, but they are still federal employees working for the Department of Defense.

But you are probably wondering "Have I violated federal law?" Well, not exactly. The law places all responsibility of legal sale on the seller only (BladeHQ), not you. A more diligent online automatic seller would have required you to fax over proof like a legal military purchase order. BladeHQ is simply very lax about it. By checking the box that you are an authorized procurement specialist, it's debatable if that counts as perjury because it was not done under oath or in the confines of a signed contract, thought it might be seen as impersonation of a gov official. Regardless though, here's the practical side: The federal switchblade law has gone more or less unenforced for decades. The feds just don't seem to care unless you're, say, a mobster and they want a good excuse charge (like when they got Al Capone on tax-evasion). And enforcement on balisongs like the Bradly Kimura is practically unheard of.

Regarding New York state law, it is illegal to possess an automatic unless you have a fishing or hunting license (it is not clear how much immunity it gives you, but easy enough to do). New York law doesn't actually ban ownership of balisongs since the courts ruled they don't count as automatics or gravity knives, though they are likely illegal to carry under the state's vague "dangerous knife" provision.

 

[Batchellero]

@richard thurman i wasnt asking how to break the law i was asking how big of a deal it was that i did that to order the balisong and if it was a serious problem then i just wouldnt try and get any other knives 'illegally' i would just look into another knife to get like a spyderco military or preferably a para2 if i could find one (the all black version, if anyone here has one to sell btw). and @glistam thanks, ill look into getting a fishing license, i like to fish anyway. Im still not sure if ill try and get the otf but at least i know now what it means when im ordering one and what to expect, i feel much more confident if i do decide to get it.