Couple of comments:

1) This probably belongs in the "Around The Campfire" forum.

2) It seems a little unclear what happened. The comment about the girl freaking out makes me curiuos about the circumstances around the incident.

3) I'm not real familiar with that particular knife, but it does appear many dealers are selling it under the switchblade catagory and certainly it claims to have some sort of assisted open. If switchblades are indeed against the rules there and the knife in question *appears* to be a switchblade, I'm not sure what you expected.

4) Typically, not knowing the rules isn't considered a defense.

5) There is a difference between agreeing with the rules and following the rules.

For example, a while ago my wife and I were planning a vacation and I wanted to visit Mt. St. Helens National Monument. There are various trails around there that I thought would be fun visit. However, I noted that dogs were not allowed anywhere but in the parking lot. As a result, I skipped the trails and had to be content with the view from the parking lot. Certainly I could have ignored the rule - however, if I was caught I would feel obliged to take my lumps.

I'm not trying to be unsympathetic, and certainly, there are a lot of rules I don't agree with, many them revolving around dogs and weapons! :-) But it is up to you to know them and decide if you are going to follow them.

-john