Ouch. The article misstates the law (and I can't watch the video), but I hope the guy fights it and gets a sympathetic court. In a suburb of Austin, it's hard to say.
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Texas and knives
- Thread starter Fred S2
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Ouch. The article misstates the law (and I can't watch the video), but I hope the guy fights it and gets a sympathetic court. In a suburb of Austin, it's hard to say.
Actually, though the Rangers are old, the U.S. Marshall's service is older by a long shot (1789). When the Rangers were constituted (1836) Texas was not even part of the USA. Even Tallahassee, FL is older (1826).
However, as a State, Texas rocks!
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The bolded part is important to many who like large fixed blades. If you are doing a "sporting activity" (camping counts right), then you can carry an illegal (read large) knife on the premises where the activity is being held, are traveling to said premises. So if you are in a place where you would normally want a larger knife, like in the woods, then you are good to go.
For those who like to carry your ESEE 6 into HEB to do some shopping, you might want to pick up an ESEE 3 or some smaller fixed blade within 5.5".
MTURBO
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I'm from Galveston originally. I love Texas. The only issue is San Antonio. No folding, locking knife under 5.5"
Live in Chicago most of my life, but I summered in Galveston. Illinois is fairly lax, no length limit except in the Chicago city limits, at 2.5" d'oh!
Live in Chicago most of my life, but I summered in Galveston. Illinois is fairly lax, no length limit except in the Chicago city limits, at 2.5" d'oh!
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I'm in South Carolina and seeing someone carrying a big knife is also no big deal here. Our knife laws let us own and carry any blade length openly or concealed. I take advantage of that every day. Gotta love the South.
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That isn't something exclusive to Texas. I see that kind of thing daily, as do many other people.
I'd like to think so. Unfortunately, nowhere in the Texas code can I find a definition of "sporting activity" in this context, and a quick search of the case law doesn't turn up anything, so there you're at the mercy of the arresting officer and ultimately the court.
"According to Texas law, an illegal knife is more than five and a half inches in length."
The law refers to knives with blades over 5.5", not overall length or any other measurement. It's more ambiguous than anything, but inaccurate nonetheless.
And yes, we can all agree that this still sucks, and Texas isn't the knife-friendly utopia that one might assume.
Mercifully, not since 1 September of this year.
welderknifenut
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I for one think the laws suck pretty much, it would be nice to not worry about size or the type of edge on a blade,
but I was surprised when knife rights was on the works at changing the switchblade law and was extremely happy when the law was changed,
heck i thought we would never be able to legally carry autos or balis.
but I was surprised when knife rights was on the works at changing the switchblade law and was extremely happy when the law was changed,
heck i thought we would never be able to legally carry autos or balis.
Texas knife laws are mid grade in my opinion, the reason I have never bought a DE OTF is because I want to be able to carry it legally. Last session, there was a bill that passed the House that removed knives form the Prohibited Weapons statute, it got this close to a vote in the full Senate until Sen. Whitmire, a well known liberal asshole from Houston, stalled it and the session ended. Here's to 2017...
As far as that guy who was arrested, as it is described he very clearly broke the law. Hopefully he can cut a plea deal that doesn't result in him being convicted of a felony and suffering the loss of rights associated with that.
As far as that guy who was arrested, as it is described he very clearly broke the law. Hopefully he can cut a plea deal that doesn't result in him being convicted of a felony and suffering the loss of rights associated with that.
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And in many more states it is illegal to carry a fixed blade concealed, or they have more restrictive laws, re: length or you can't carry a fixed blade at all in public, open or concealed.
Texas law doesn't give a rat's patootie about open or concealed carry, re: legal knives. Nor do we have to worry about different laws for fixed blades or folders - 1 law fits all. Although no one I know carries a 5.5" bladed folding knife on a regular basis.
Switchblades and balisongs became legal for public carry September 01, 2013. September 01, 2015 was when the pre-emption bill took effect and eliminated local restrictions, like in San Antonio and Corpus Christi,
Per the stated law and as acknowledge by various folks above, daggers are illegal for public carry in Texas, including, but not limited to dirk, stilletos and poniards. Since in many dictionaries, dirks are defined as either "short" or "small" daggers, stillettos are "Slim, double-edged with dagger-like or ice pick-like blades" and poniard is simply French for..... "dagger", the Texas law says, paraphrasing, that illegal knives include "daggers. short daggers, small daggers, skinny daggers, ice pick daggers and French daggers".
Could you get charged for carrying an "ice pick"? Yes, depending on the circumstances. If I were to be chopping up ice blocks for a party or snow cone grinding down in the park - no. If I were sitting on a park bench or picnic table guzzling beer with an ice pick in my hip pocket - Yes. It's all a matter of context and what you are doing at the time.
The "wrong" part is the text written for the teleprompter that the news announcer, Richard Hadlock, was reading from. He just reads what some fool wrote for his broadcast.
The written part of the article gets it mostly right. It states that the officer asked the individual "how long is your knife blade?" based on the, apparently, over-sized sheath, and the individual "didn't know how long it was". From there, the reader must be able to read English AND make inferences from facts and data previously provided in the the article. Not a skill taught much in schools now-a-days.
Even a half blind LEO can tell the difference between a potentially legal sized knife sheath and a sheath capable of holding a 10" bladed knife. It's called a clue that the individual may be up to no good. See above comment about context. The individual could have just as easily stuck a 4", 5" or 5.49" knife knife into the sheath and been legal. He would have known the length of the knife he stuck in the sheath. Telling the cop "I don't know." is shorthand for "I'm probably up to no good. Check me out further."
Any one who carried a knife in Texas knows how long his or her knife is. He or she may not know the exact laws but they damn sure know what they are carrying. The individual's answer might as well have been a red cape in front of a bull.
No one ever claimed it was a "knife-friendly" utopia. No such place exists. Some come close, e.g., AZ and NH, but even in those states, I'd be willing to bet there are some restrictions on carrying knives, swords. bayonets, smatchets or machetes into a bar, strip club or other places that serve alcohol.
There are many places that are way more restrictive than Texas, even in allegedly knife friendly states - California has a nice law on FBs - anything goes, well except on schools (no knives), universities (2 inch limit), and LA City/County - 3". Oh, by the way - that is open carry only. Try to conceal carry a 2.825" Western L28 and ....BUSTED. Oooh, Oooh - legal switchblades/OTFs are limited to 2".
Let's see
MA, too many local laws in too small a state to even think about the state law.
CN - max 4" large fixed blade carry laws will make you cry - just like CN (Mace) will make you cry.
NY is just really friendly, aren't they? Max 4" concealed in NYC but can you really???
CO - nothing over 3.5" concealed.
MI - illegal to carry "stabbing" knives concealed.
OK - Apparently illegal to carry any FB concealed
I'll take Texas any day over any state where I can become a felon just by putting on a coat/wind-breaker/rain coat/sweater/jacket because it has now made my legal open carry knife an illegal concealed knife.
and on and on.....
As I said, I couldn't watch the video, so thanks for clearing that up.
No, nobody claimed it was a utopia, but "one might assume" that it would at least have more liberal knife restrictions, given the state's (I won't say carefully cultivated, but at times actively promoted) reputation. I know I always thought it strange that they'd let me carry a handgun, but not a chef's knife. As I said with literally the first thing I posted in this thread, however, "They weren't ever as restrictive as some states."
I don't know what current AZ law is, but when I last drove through it, about six or seven years ago, they had a long list of places you weren't allowed to carry any knife unless you had a concealed weapons permit. Since my Texas CHL was reciprocal with Arizona's CCW, this meant I could enjoy silly privileges like carrying a Victorinox Classic on my keychain while on the premises of a nuclear reactor, something many Arizona natives couldn't do.
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Some states' antiquated knife laws pre-date the Civil War, e.g., the prohibition on Bowie knives, as early "feel good" legislation in an attempt to stem knife duels, which were already illegal any way. Kinda like an early "war on duels". San Antonio's now-defunct ban on locking folder was an "anti-gang" ordinance that adversely affect law abiding folks for 2 decades, 1995 - 2015.
Texas' vague (no definitions) ban on carrying "bowies, daggers, dirks, and poniards" was put into our post-Civil War State Constitution by the carpet-baggers who ran things during Reconstruction. It was an attempt to "disarm" blacks and poor whites who carried knives instead of guns. Pistols were relatively expensive and only the rich could really afford them, so blacks and poor whites carried what they could. It's why there's also a ban on the public carry of tomahawks, spears, batons or clubs and swords/sword canes, but legal to carry on your own property. Hatchets, axes, machetes and other longer reach weapons and tools were in day to day use on farms and ranches. There would have been a second revolution had they tried to ban them to be owned. Some states have outright bans on even POSSESSING some types of knives.
Now who in their right mind has spears in Texas? Well, back in the day, frog-gigging was a nearly a "right of passage" for any boy east of IH35, where 98% of our population lived prior to 1940. A frog gig is simply a spear with a small trident point. I still have a couple somewhere.
Damn, now I have something else to put on my "find it" list.
Texas' vague (no definitions) ban on carrying "bowies, daggers, dirks, and poniards" was put into our post-Civil War State Constitution by the carpet-baggers who ran things during Reconstruction. It was an attempt to "disarm" blacks and poor whites who carried knives instead of guns. Pistols were relatively expensive and only the rich could really afford them, so blacks and poor whites carried what they could. It's why there's also a ban on the public carry of tomahawks, spears, batons or clubs and swords/sword canes, but legal to carry on your own property. Hatchets, axes, machetes and other longer reach weapons and tools were in day to day use on farms and ranches. There would have been a second revolution had they tried to ban them to be owned. Some states have outright bans on even POSSESSING some types of knives.
Now who in their right mind has spears in Texas? Well, back in the day, frog-gigging was a nearly a "right of passage" for any boy east of IH35, where 98% of our population lived prior to 1940. A frog gig is simply a spear with a small trident point. I still have a couple somewhere.
Damn, now I have something else to put on my "find it" list.
welderknifenut
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What about carrying a big knife in your vehicle, and having it only in a bug out bag?
I have understood that your vehicle is basically an extension of your domicile.
I have understood that your vehicle is basically an extension of your domicile.
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Carrying an "illegal" knife in your vehicle is legal and in a bug out bag would be ideal, as it would be out of sight.
While Texas does not have any laws concerning open carry vs concealed carry, re: knives, it does have some laws on the books about having weapons in plain sight under certain circumstances and most are open to interpretation by LEOs based on the situation.
If any knife visible through your vehicle windows is legal, no big deal. If, however, the knife in question is an "illegal" knife, then it becomes problematic as the "system" tends to treat illegal knives as weapons, even if they are not being used at the time.
As for your vehicle being an extension of your domicile, well, that's one of those gray areas. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. Again, each situation and set of circumstances will dictate how they are applied.
If the general situation is such that you are required to abandon your vehicle and "bug out" with your bug out bag, if your knife is an "illegal" one, any LEO who stopped you could charge you with carrying an illegal knife in public as you would no longer be in your vehicle. Whether you would be stopped by a LEO in a case where the defecatory material is impacting on the rotating air mover and you are trying to get home will depend a lot on what kind of material is flying and where you are at the time of being stopped.
While I routinely carry "illegal" knives in my vehicles, the knives in my "get home" bags are all legal length and single edge, so that if I abandon the vehicle, I'm legal. That would change with the circumstances. Under some situations I would say "%^&* it" and take everything, including any machete, BK9, 1219C2 in the vehicle.
While Texas does not have any laws concerning open carry vs concealed carry, re: knives, it does have some laws on the books about having weapons in plain sight under certain circumstances and most are open to interpretation by LEOs based on the situation.
If any knife visible through your vehicle windows is legal, no big deal. If, however, the knife in question is an "illegal" knife, then it becomes problematic as the "system" tends to treat illegal knives as weapons, even if they are not being used at the time.
As for your vehicle being an extension of your domicile, well, that's one of those gray areas. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. Again, each situation and set of circumstances will dictate how they are applied.
If the general situation is such that you are required to abandon your vehicle and "bug out" with your bug out bag, if your knife is an "illegal" one, any LEO who stopped you could charge you with carrying an illegal knife in public as you would no longer be in your vehicle. Whether you would be stopped by a LEO in a case where the defecatory material is impacting on the rotating air mover and you are trying to get home will depend a lot on what kind of material is flying and where you are at the time of being stopped.
While I routinely carry "illegal" knives in my vehicles, the knives in my "get home" bags are all legal length and single edge, so that if I abandon the vehicle, I'm legal. That would change with the circumstances. Under some situations I would say "%^&* it" and take everything, including any machete, BK9, 1219C2 in the vehicle.
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I really need to move back to the states! Here in England, to be legal is no locking blade, and must be under 3 inches. Even that is subject to circumstance.
Here in England, to be legal is no locking blade, and must be under 3 inches. Even that is subject to circumstance.