Recent Arkansas statute change?

[Codger_64]

Arkansas

09-FEB-2007 -- The Arkansas legislature has repealed Sec. 5-73-121 of the Arkansas Code pertaining to the offense of carrying a knife as a weapon. Prior to its repeal, Sec. 5-73-121 had imposed a three and a half inch blade length limit on knife carry, and knives carried with blades over the specified length were presumed to be weapons under the statute.

With the repeal of Sec. 5-71-121, implemented as Act 83 of 2007, Arkansas no longer has a statutory blade length limit for knife carry.

I found that AKTI had a leading role in this legislation!

http://www.akti.org/legislation/arkansas.html

I believe that this incident was at least partially the cause of Arkansas' and a few other states archaic statutes:

There is no question that the knives were deadly. Across the young country, according to one breathless account, “Bowies were drinking blood from New Orleans to Dubuque and from Savannah to Brazos.” In 1837 the Arkansas Speaker of the House killed a fellow legislator with a Bowie on the floor of the Arkansas House of Representatives. That same year Alabama passed a law stipulating that anyone who killed another person with a Bowie knife “shall suffer the same as if the killing had been by malice and aforethought.” In 1828 Tennessee banned their sale.

 

[Codger_64]

Arkansas Code Annotated §5-73-120. Carrying a weapon.

(a) A person commits the offense of carrying a weapon if he or she possesses a handgun, knife, or club on or about his or her person, in a vehicle occupied by him or her, or otherwise readily available for use with a purpose to employ the handgun, knife, or club as a weapon against a person. (b) As used in this section:
(1) "Club" means any instrument that is specially designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious physical injury or death by striking, including a blackjack, billie, and sap;
(2) "Handgun" means any firearm with a barrel length of less than twelve inches (12") that is designed, made, or adapted to be fired with one (1) hand; and
(3)(A) "Knife" means any bladed hand instrument that is capable of inflicting serious physical injury or death by cutting or stabbing.
(B) "Knife" includes a dirk, sword or spear in a cane, razor, ice pick, throwing star, switchblade, and butterfly knife.


In the above (3)(B) "Knife" definition, the term "includes" is used. Does this word indicate a restriction of the class as defined? Or is it intended to add to the class "any bladed hand instrument that is capable of inflicting serious physical injury or death by cutting or stabbing". My non-lawyer take is that it defines strictly what is included in the class. To mean otherwise would be a very broad class defining even a tiny pen knife as a weapon. Any expert opinions or case law to support or debunk my interpretation? I have learned that words used in law do not always follow their common use dictionary definitions. Words in law have very specific meanings.