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Knives and the Second Amendment(by Kopel, Cramer,and Olson)
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform ^ | 21 November, 2013 | Kopel, Cramer, and Olson

Posted on 11/24/2013 11:49:26 AM PST by marktwain

Abstract: This Article is the first scholarly analysis of knives and the Second Amendment. Under the Supreme Court’s standard in District of Columbia v. Heller, knives are Second Amendment “arms” because they are “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” including self-defense.

There is no knife that is more dangerous than a modern handgun; to the contrary, knives are much less dangerous. Therefore, restrictions on carrying handguns set the upper limit for restrictions on carrying knives.

Prohibitions on carrying knives in general, or of particular knives, are unconstitutional. For example, bans of knives that open in a convenient way (e.g., switchblades, gravity knives, and butterfly knives) are unconstitutional. Likewise unconstitutional are bans on folding knives that, after being opened, have a safety lock to prevent inadvertent closure.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 49

(Excerpt) Read more at papers.ssrn.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist; constitution; knife; knives; secondamendment
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Kopel is one of the foremost second amendment scholars, Cramer's research brought down the Bellesiles fraud. Perhaps someone can help me with Olson.
1 posted on 11/24/2013 11:49:26 AM PST by marktwain
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To: marktwain

They will try and ban anything and everything thhat can be used as a weapon.

For example, the Scottish author Irwine Welsh suggests that hammers should be registered and have serial numbers.


2 posted on 11/24/2013 12:04:24 PM PST by Hardraade (http://junipersec.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/nicolae-hussein-obama/)
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To: Hardraade
They will try and ban anything and everything that can be used as a weapon.

If it's the Obama Administration, they want to ban anything a person could use to defend themselves...

3 posted on 11/24/2013 12:07:14 PM PST by GOPJ ("Remember who the real enemy is... ")
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To: marktwain

I’d like their opinion on unionized law enforcement which represents the Democratic Party’s political police force.


4 posted on 11/24/2013 12:07:17 PM PST by Zuben Elgenubi (NOPe to GOPe)
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To: marktwain

One thing I remember from the book “All Quiet on the Western Front” was after years of hand to hand combat, the Germans began to prefer their spades, sharpened to a rifle or a rifle with a bayonette.

The author was a real German WWI soldier who had been in the thick of it.

I also noticed the Russians seemed to have the same idea.


5 posted on 11/24/2013 12:20:37 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8: verses 38 and 39. "For I am persuaded".)
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To: marktwain
In Missouri, if you have a concealed carry permit you may carry any knife, including switchblades and gravity knives.

I know this doesn't address the issue that almost all laws against weapons are unconstitutional.

6 posted on 11/24/2013 12:47:53 PM PST by Politically Correct (A member of the rabble in good standing)
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To: marktwain
There is no knife that is more dangerous than a modern handgun; to the contrary, knives are much less dangerous.

I'm certainly no authority, nor do I have a clear idea how to measure dangerousness; that said, I've met more than one or two cops and martial artists who'd tell you only fools are less wary of knives in criminal hands than guns.

7 posted on 11/24/2013 12:48:11 PM PST by Standing Wolf (No tyrant should ever be allowed to die of natural causes.)
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To: yarddog
I had a buddy in Vietnam who had used his e-tool during one evening's festivities with the NVA/VC. "E" as in "Entrenching", a folding shovel for digging a trench/foxhole, not "E as in "Electronic".


8 posted on 11/24/2013 12:59:14 PM PST by BwanaNdege (Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. J.F. Kennedy)
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To: Standing Wolf; All

Knives are certainly very effective weapons in trained hands, and dangerous weapons in nearly anyone’s hands.

Your statement clearly is a corollary of the statement that the person is the dangerous part of the equation.

Still, I think few would argue that knives are generally less dangerous to the public than handguns are. They are much less likely to cause damage to unintended targets, they generally will not be able to penetrate walls and windows to effect damage, and they are generally ineffective beyond arms length (in spite of what a few highly trained experts can do under ideal conditions).

While handguns have utility outside of self defense, knives have more. While handguns are common, knives are more common. While handguns have improved technologically beyond those in common use when the Constitution was written, knives have changed little.


9 posted on 11/24/2013 1:04:16 PM PST by marktwain (The MSM must die for the Republic to live. Long live the new media!)
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To: marktwain

Thank God this is finally getting some traction!

‘He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That is enough,” he replied.’

Luke 22

The Biblical foundation for right to bear arms was originally for swords, the light arm of the day. The idea that I can have a shotgun but not a switchblade is lunacy.


10 posted on 11/24/2013 1:10:20 PM PST by Viennacon
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To: Standing Wolf

Ballistic knives are some of the most deadly. I’d hope they’re going to lift restrictions on those.


11 posted on 11/24/2013 1:11:28 PM PST by Viennacon
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To: marktwain

***There is no knife that is more dangerous than a modern handgun;***

Strange. Years ago, some eastern police commissioner wanted to ban knives because he felt they were MORE dangerous than handguns because the knife was “always loaded”.


12 posted on 11/24/2013 1:15:16 PM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
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To: Viennacon

Some degree of guarding (of themselves and of resources) was bidden by Jesus. The miracles on tap that kept Him and them safe were going to come to an end. And they didn’t have the bold Spirit yet that was going to carry them to witness to the point of martyrdom in many cases. When Pentecost came that game changed. I’d still say it’s OK to defend others (such as a dependent family). IMHO only of course, modern Christians have tended to be timid because an easy political environment allowed them to live relatively easy lives. Their foe was not so much assaults as complacency, and actually a more insidious foe. Christians do better against devils that are frank about trying to rob them, than against devils that pretend to give them something.


13 posted on 11/24/2013 1:17:11 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (The Lion of Judah will roar again if you give him a big hug and a cheer and mean it. See my page.)
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To: yarddog

While taking a required survival course in the USAF, one airman asked if the fold up axe could be used as a weapon. The instructor said the short fold up shovel made a better weapon because of it’s balance.


14 posted on 11/24/2013 1:17:49 PM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
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To: marktwain

1887 Webster`s Dictionary:
to bear, bear v.t., 1. to support and move; or carry 2. To be equipped, furnished, or marked with; to have as belonging, distinguishing, identifying, or characterizing; as to bear a sword,


15 posted on 11/24/2013 1:17:53 PM PST by bunkerhill7 ("The Second Amendment has no limits on firepower"-Nhttp://capY State Senator Kathleen A. Marchione.")
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To: marktwain

“There is no knife that is more dangerous than a modern handgun; to the contrary, knives are much less dangerous.”

That is a haphazard and subjective statement. Knife injury mortality is very high, because unlike a relatively small hole left by a bullet, knife cuts can damage both surface and internal capillaries, lots of them, and all at once. And they likely produce major arterial bleeding more often than do guns.


16 posted on 11/24/2013 1:33:38 PM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy (War on Terror news at rantburg.com)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

Not only that, the knife keeps coming back for more and more, ultimately overwhelming the body with trauma, tissue and organ damage, and blood loss. Ask anyone in prison who’s survived or witnessed a shanking.


17 posted on 11/24/2013 2:43:56 PM PST by DPMD
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To: marktwain

Knife laws are ridiculous because most legislators are idiots. I always carry a knife here in California because that is the most lethal weapon I can legally carry (until I move to Arizona—hopefully in a year or so).

Butterfly knives are illegal because they “look” scary. My Kershaw speed-assist knife opens faster than a butterfly knife and is perfectly legal. My KA-
BAR tanto knife with an 8 inch blade is WAY more lethal than a switchblade and I can carry that as long as it is in the open. (Jax Teller’s KA-BAR USMC knife on the show Sons of Anarchy is legal carried like that even here in California.)

The only time I ever deployed my knife was a couple years ago when I came across a man beating his girlfriend ground and pound style in a Sunnyvale parking lot. I ran at him yelling for him to get off as I pulled my knife and flicked the blade open. He ran away. When the police took the report, they didn’t give me a hard time or even ask to see the knife.

I have one friend who tried to help a guy who was jumped by three gangbangers. When they started beating him, He pulled his knife and stabbed all three. One died a few days later but no charges were filed because his life was in danger. He moved to San Diego though after he heard the Norteños gang had a bounty on his head for killing one of their members.


18 posted on 11/24/2013 2:57:41 PM PST by Conservative Vet
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To: marktwain

When I lived In California, the law stated that I could openly where a belt knife, with a —blade length — of no more than five (5) inches, so I wore this:

http://www.bestglide.com/AF_Survival_Knife_Info.html

Just like the folks tell you about kitchen knives, a solid tang is better.


19 posted on 11/24/2013 3:51:58 PM PST by Terry L Smith
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To: marktwain

Does this mean I can open carry my short sword here in Houston?

I sure hope so!!!!!


20 posted on 11/24/2013 3:58:10 PM PST by rfreedom4u (Your feelings don't trump my free speech!)
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