Posted on 05/23/2012 6:41:51 AM PDT by marktwain
Virginia's General Assembly has finally purged the remnants of gun control from its books. The meaningless one-gun-a-month purchase restriction was repealed last session, and two years ago, Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a law granting concealed-carry permit holders permission to eat in restaurants that serve alcohol. Now it’s time for lawmakers to fix the state’s knife laws that are so irrational, they make walking around with a box cutter in one’s pocket a crime punishable by a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
The need for change is real. In the late 1990s, a man was convicted in Richmond for driving with a common steak knife under his car seat. He wasn’t a thief; he threatened no one. A police search found the small, plastic-handled blade next to a shirt, boots, a cooler, beer and “other trash” that were to be used on a fishing trip. The man got lucky, as the Court of Appeals ultimately reversed the conviction after observing that the steak knife “in fact has the appearance and characteristics of an ordinary household steak knife.”
Such rulings are premised on the interpretation of an Old Dominion statute outlawing the concealed carry of any “dirk, bowie knife … or weapon of like kind.” This language has been on the books since 1849, yet the terms are so vague that court rulings on the topic frequently resort to the use of photographs to make their point. Even the appellate bench finds the law troublesome. “Although framed in legalese, essentially, like the character portrayed by Paul Hogan in the film ‘Crocodile Dundee,’ we find ourselves repeatedly posing the question in these cases, ‘You call that a knife?’ and occasionally agreeing; ‘Now THAT’S a knife?’ ” Judge Robert J. Humphreys explained in a dissent to a 2009 case.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
And the fascists see them as an easier target than guns. Even though guns scare them more.
Weight: 109.5 oz.
Overall Length: 55 1/4"
http://www.coldsteel.com/twohandedgreat.html
Now that's a knife!
Any honest person would agree that knives and swords are arms and that the Constitution protects our God-given right to keep and bear arms, both edged tools/weapons, and hunting/defensive/combat firearms. It's a shame that today's Democrats are driven by ideology rather than by integrity.
If Virginia gets their heads out of their posteriors over knife laws, maybe Tennessee will follow suit. Not likely, but one always has hope.
The Second Amendment isn’t just for those things that go Bang.
They’ll pry my sword cane from my cold dead hands!
Might be of interest :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.