STATE KNIFE LAWS

Compiled in September 1996 for BLADE Magazine (and subsequently updated) by:

BERNARD LEVINE * PO BOX 2404 * EUGENE OREGON 97402 * 541-484-0294

Bernard Levine's Knife Expert Witness Internet BizCard: www.knife-expert.com

Go to Bernard Levine's KNIFE-RELATED LINKS Page



Go to individual STATE links: A - H I - M N - R S - W





Is a knife legal in your state?



After reading your state's knife laws, if you still have a question on the legality of a specific knife, I will provide a brief answer based on the current laws for a fee of $10. Click HERE to learn more.







INTRODUCTION

State laws are the most important knife laws, but they are

certainly not the only knife laws. Some state legislatures

have pre-empted weapons law (i.e. claimed a monopoly on

making this type of law), but most have not. In states which

have not pre-empted, individual counties, cities, and towns

can have their own knife or other weapons ordinances, and

many of them do.

Even in states which have pre-empted weapons laws, big

cities sometimes pass and enforce knife laws anyway

(Portland, Oregon, in its attempt to ban pocketknives, was a

recent example; the ban survived three levels of appeal,

until being overturned by the State Supreme Court). These

unconstitutional ordinances place the burden of defense and

appeal on the unlucky citizens who happen to get charged.

A few jurisdictions have explicit knife-related ordinances,

but most include knives within broader "concealed weapon,"

"dangerous weapon," or "deadly weapon" statutes. A few of

these state and local laws date back to the wild frontier

days of bowie knives and pocket dirks. The majority, however,

were first enacted during the anarchist scares of the 1880s

and the 1910s. Then, as now, publicity-hungry politicians

attacked the hardware, rather than the perpetrators, I

suppose because hardware does not vote.

The meaning of most of these state laws is ambiguous, their

terms either poorly defined, or not defined at all. In large

part this vagueness was intentional, for it gave wide

discretion to local police and judges. These laws' practical

day-to-day meaning can only be understood from a study of

relevant appellate decisions, which are summarized in notes

in the various state law codes. Therefore I have included

relevant extracts from that case law here.

It is curious how two states with essentially the same

law (based on a generic "Model Penal Code") can interpret

them in exactly opposite ways, such as in deciding whether or

not a butcher knife is a "bowie knife" or a "dirk or dagger,"

or in deciding whether "self-defense" is a mitigating or an

aggravating factor in carrying a weapon. Much case law from

the 1960s and earlier, some of it still in force, was

implicitly based upon the race and social class of the

individual on trial. This harks back to England, where "at

common law it was an offense to carry a weapon unless the

bearer was of proper social standing." [Perkins, Criminal

Law, 1957.]

An Illinois legislative committee summed up the whole

subject of deadly weapon laws very neatly back in 1961:

"The possession and use of dangerous weapons has long

presented a problem to the law... Statutes of this kind have

been criticized for having the effect of prohibiting the law-

abiding citizen from protecting himself, while at the same

time failing to reach the criminal who habitually uses

dangerous weapons for illegal ends. Nevertheless, a great

many convictions have been obtained for the crime of carrying

concealed weapons. Hence, the Committee felt that a

continuation of the same policies which lie behind the

present law of deadly weapons was desirable."

Translated into plain English, they said that this law only

affects law-abiding citizens, but since many of them have

been convicted, and thus have been redefined as criminals,

let's keep enforcing it.

To read more about the history and philosophy of KNIFE LAWs click here







FEDERAL KNIFE LAWS and Switchblade Knives

State and local ordinances are not the only knife laws. The

federal government also has its own knife laws. Federal law

bans interstate commerce in switchblade knives. The only

exemption to this federal ban is direct sale to government

agencies by manufacturers.

Even before Congress banned interstate commerce in

switchblade and gravity knives in 1958, in response to media

frenzy about "juvenile delinquency," several states had

already enacted more or less absolute bans within their own

borders. The first was New Jersey, in 1956, followed quickly

by New York. Today about half the states have outright bans

on switchblade knives, while another dozen or so states ban

carry and/or commerce in switchblades.

1) These are abridged extracts ONLY from those state laws

explicitly mentioning knives.

2) Most states have additional laws regarding the use of

weapons in the commission of crimes. The laws collected here

are only those in which possession or carry of a knife is the

only crime.

3) Research was conducted in September 1996; new laws or

amendments may have been passed since then. I have

included later updates and revisions for many states,

but not all. See notes for each state.

4) Some cities or counties may have additional or more

restrictive local laws (e.g. New York City).

5) "None found" means just that. It does not mean that the

state has no knife laws, but only that I cannot find any.





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The KNIFE LAWS of the 50 STATES (& D.C.)





Federal Switchblade Act, the complete text





Is a knife legal in your state?



After reading your state's knife laws, if you still have a question on the legality of a specific knife, I will provide a brief answer based on the current laws for a fee of $10. Click HERE to learn more.







Bernard Levine's Knife Expert Witness Internet BizCard: www.knife-expert.com





Go to Bernard Levine's KNIFE-RELATED LINKS Page





Your donation will help to maintain this website. NO ADS! NO POP-UPS!



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