Which States Have the Most Lenient Knife Laws

Asking what makes a state’s knife laws lenient probably seems stupid. After all, the answer is right there in the word’s definition: Something lenient isn’t harsh or strict. And, yes, lenient regulations generally allow knife owners to use most tools in most ways that they see fit. (Note that there isn’t a single state that allows complete freedom. You will always encounter some restrictions regarding how you can use your knives.) However, like most things legal, the situation isn’t as simple as it might seem at first. Some of the qualities and elements that make a particular state’s knife laws lenient are … Simplicity and clarity. One of the greatest issues regarding knife laws is when they become so complicated that ordinary users don’t or can’t understand them in their entirety. A related issue occurs when states craft statues that are ambiguous, leaving even informed citizens unsure as to whether or not they’re breaking the law. For example, let’s return to The Empire State, which has legislated that anyone under 16 years of age cannot have a “dangerous knife” and that all otherwise legal knives become illegal once brought onto a subway. Washington (the state, not the District of Columbia) forbids you from concealing “dangerous weapons,” meaning that even the tiniest penknife could run one afoul of the law. California has outlawed the bringing of weapons into public spaces, an expansive definition. To illustrate how difficult complex and opaque regulations can become, the American Knife and Tool Institute‘s Daniel C. Lawson conducted a thought experiment where he tried to envision a blade that would be legal in all 50 states. After discussing how all “assisted openers, gravity knives, butterfly knives, dirk knives, double-edged knives, undetectable knives, and disguised knives … are restricted in at least one state,” he points out that “a significant number of states have a general ‘deadly weapon” prohibition,” a highly subjective bit of verbiage “which defines that term in such a way that some knives would be included.” That makes the task of finding a nationally legal knife much more difficult, and Lawson eventually concludes, “Blackened blades and OD green, flat dark earth, or camouflage handles are cosmetic aspects that may suggest a ‘weapon-grade’ knife. ‘Fantasy’ or unconventional styles or blade shapes may persuade some jurors to see a weapon as opposed to a tool. Avoid modifications that may suggest a knife has been ‘adapted’ or made to be a more efficient weapon. A 50-state legal knife should be something non-threatening and ordinary that is within the objective parameters, blade length, and functionality.” You get the idea: Lenient — and basically just good — knife laws are easy to understand and obey. Recognition of accessibility features. As we’ve discussed in the past, critics of bladed tools tend to latch on to a singular element of a particular style of knife and proclaim that this feature makes it “bad.” This tactic reaches back to at least the mid-20th century when Jack Harrison Pollack penned his scorching op-ed “The Toy That Kills,” in which he decried the existence of switchblades, proclaiming that “in all my investigations, I could find no good reason why anybody — youngster or adult — should be legally allowed to carry a switchblade.” Many overly restrictive lawmakers have adopted Pollack’s attitude by specifically targeting individual elements of knives and assuming there’s “no good reason” why anyone except a ne’er-do-well would want them. However, more reasonable public servants understand the old proverb abusus non tollit usum (“abuse does not cancel use”). Just because a tool’s feature can be used for evil doesn’t necessarily mean the feature itself is evil. Pollack might’ve felt differently about switchblades or today’s automatic knives had he suffered a stroke or lost the use of a limb. Blades that deploy at the press of a button are incredibly helpful for those who aren’t able-bodied. Farmers trying to unbale straw or hay, EMTs seeking to free a patient from a seatbelt, and gardeners attempting to prune a plant all might find value in a knife that only needs one hand to operate. Prudent lawmakers will recognize this fact. An inclusion of language related to preemption. That clause you just read may sound a bit like gobbledygook, but it’s an important point that’s all too easily ignored. As the American Knife and Tool Institute explains, “In the United States, we have various levels including federal, territorial, Indian Country, state, and ‘local.’ Governing bodies have differing roles.” This federalist arrangement generally works well since top-down rules often ignore unique local circumstances. They can become somewhat insidious, though, in the context of knife restrictions. That’s why the most lenient states codify the concept of preemption in their laws. AKTI approaches the idea of preemption by noting that, “obviously, one size does fit all, and at the lower levels of government, it is desirable that regulations be more tailored to the locality. … Preemption law refers to the ‘conflict’ or overlap between higher and lower laws in the multiple-layered arrangement mentioned above. Preemption occurs when a higher level (state) precludes the lower level (municipality) from enacting or enforcing restrictions on a particular issue.” The importance of preemption may not seem immediately evident at first. After all, shouldn’t local governments have have preference when enacting statutes that influence them? Well, not necessarily, particularly when it comes to laws dealing with tools and weapons, laws that typically carry harsher penalties. Consider a case we’ve highlighted before, namely the disparity between Florida knife law and the regulations enacted by Miami-Dade county. Though the Sunshine State doesn’t single out any style of blade for restriction except ballistic knives, Miami-Dade has declared that “it shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer to sell, display, use, possess or carry any knife or knives having the appearance of a pocketknife, the blade or blades of which can be opened by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, or other mechanical contrivance.” The situation is much the same when contrasting Colorado and Denver, Michigan and Detroit, and Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. Such discrepancies mean that knife owners who honestly think that they’re keeping the law can accidentally run afoul of local laws that might turn them into felons. Their only alternatives are either to not carry a blade at all or to keep track of a confusing patchwork of varying regulations. When you compare knife laws with gun laws and the crime rate of your state , the idea of just not carrying a blade usually does not sound like a good idea. The freest states in the Union avoid this problem altogether by cementing preemption in their knife-related laws. In these states, there’s a single standard that applies to everyone.