Knife control in Boston

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Knife...aid=Pr5zu0F9L-k

Bravo, Mr. Ritter, for getting on top of this!

Da Bing

From the article: "...law enforcement officials testified that 'the modern way of approaching these issues is to go after the source of the items rather than the criminals themselves.'"

LOVE IT! It's so stupid and mindless that it boggles the mind.

Sue

Be ever vigilant. This utterly insane, unconstitutional, and dictatorial garbage could easily come to a municipality near you.

Some bankers commit large-scale crimes with money. Wonder when the government will wise up and go after the source of money rather than the criminals themselves.

Not that I want to trivialize this, but my understanding is that this sort of prohibition on tools extends to stuff like crowbars. Maybe you guys know more, but my understanding is that if you are found with a crowbar, and you don't have a legitimate reason (e.g., a construction worker at work), then the tool would be regarded as evidence that you're up to no good (planning breaking & entering, e.g.). Now, I happen to have a crowbar in my bugout kit. That makes me worried.

Da Bing

So what exactly do they hope to accomplish? Or is this still at the "angry mob demands action, any action" phase?

Regardless of what the politicians do to appease the crowd, anybody could still go to walmart and buy a kitchen knife with an 8" blade. It always amazes me the lack of common sense that comes with efforts to ban knives/guns/whatever (especially knives).

A very strange state of affairs. Thousands of high powered assualt rifles are shipped to criminal drugs cartels (whose main line of business is the import of elicit drugs into the USA) in Mexico by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Operation Operation Fast and Furious, which resulted in these weapons finding their way back onto the city streets in the USA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Fast_and_Furious

Yet it would appear there is no public outrage in the USA over these criminal actions by US Government Federal law enforcement agencies, but OMG a law abiding citizen carrying a 3 inch folding knife without good reason to do so....

A bizarre and worrying state of affairs as the propagation of fear grips the nation.



I guess you just have to just take into consideration the level of corruption and criminality that is currently established in the your local government and police force as well as the level of knife, gun and violent crime. They are all factors which must be considered before venturing out whilst 'tooled' up.

This is not good. I have a tire-changing tool mounted underneath my spare tire.

Jeanette Isabelle

The article is painful to read. It's a shame it even needed to be written.

Never underestimate the government's capacity for idiocy.

I wonder how many violent crimes that baseball bats have been associated with, and whether there's ever been talk of blaming Louisville Slugger or questioning the average person's need for a baseball bat.

Citizens should probably only be trusted with Nerf bats and wiffle balls.

I have been advised that I should not carry a baseball bat in my car without it being accompanied by a glove, ball and perhaps cleats.

A couple of winters ago, I passed a poor dead (HBC) cat alongside the road, frozen solid.

AN EMERGENCY WEAPON!

Just wait until the Bureaucrats Against Dead Cats as Weapons finds out about it.

Sue

Just in case anyone doubts the potential for this to become law, in the City of Philadelphia you cannot legally carry a knife of any size or type on any street or in any public place unless it is a necessary part of your trade or profession. Minimum penalty is $300 and 30 days.

Philadelphia. PHILADELPHIA!

Now, THAT'S irony!

Sue

So I'm in IT that justifies carrying a Leatherman right? Necessary part of trade or profession seems quite vague.
I had printer service contract years ago and pulled out my knife to cut open the box with the new fuser and some lady gasped "thats a knife". My response was something like do you want me to chew the box open, thats what I knife is for.

That reminded me of...

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
- C. S. Lewis

I found the law. Section 10-820. This law seems to have been enacted as a result of Stanley (utility) knives being used as weapons. The blades on those are only about .75 inches, shorter then even Xacto knives.



I've been searching for cases involving this statute , but have had very limited luck. The only one I've been able to find is a parolee that got caught with a 3.5" folding knife and a pair of nunchucks. The "Used as a weapon" statute is very vague. Common sense would dictate that keychain SAK's are not "Weapons", but the Cold Steel Recon 1 is. The usual caveat about common sense applies.

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I think I may also have found the reason that Boston is pushing for the knife control law. In the FBI's UCI for 2010 they took a black eye for a murder rate increase of 47% (50 to 73 homicides) while almost everybody else is decreasing. It's a statistical glitch compared to the total violent crime rate, which actually decreased. But, it's bad press.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44578241/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

The polititians may be reacting to that.

The law in Philadelphia really is ridiculous - idiotic in fact.
I guess if you were going to attempt to stay legal, you could put the knife inside a backpack or luggage. I'm guessing that "carrying" means have the knife immediately accessible on your person ... not stored inside a bag?

Pete2

So given that Philadelphia law, you can't buy a kitchen knife and take it home without breaking the law (only depending on how they define, or more likely interpret, possession). Brilliant!

Could it be that many places are now supporting concealed handgun carry and self protection while Boston is not? Those other places see their crime rates going down, but Bostons murders are going way up. Hmmm... "Yeah, let's blame it on knives now", say the idiot politicians.

If the bad guys run free, and honest citicens are denied the means to defend themselves, yeah, you might get murdered. Wake up Boston!

I know the reason for all the murders: there's no place to park. People get desperate when they're late for work!

Sue

Parking? What's that? Oh, ya mean pahking? Yeah, people have a wicked. short. fuse when it comes to pahking.

Da Bing

I understand that the homicide rate in Los Angeles has been decreasing in recent years, and I doubt that anyone would characterize LA as a place that is "now supporting concealed handgun carry and self protection". Most analyses attribute the decline primarily to an aging demographic and other non weapons related factors. That still does not justify a really silly law - a knife is among other things, a really useful and vital tool.

Just think about the poor truck driver delivering the kitchen knives to the store, possession with intent to distribute.

Eugene, you just made me spit all over my keyboard!

Sue

What about the guy delivering them to the school cafeteria? Possession with intent to distribute in the vicinity of a school. Oh no, think of the children!!