Posted on 03/15/2017 5:19:11 AM PDT by marktwain
A Pennsylvania Court has found that automatic knives are not protected arms under the Second Amendment. The case is not precedential, and is unlikely to be appealed. The finding was made on 9 March, 2017.
On July 29th, 2014, William Battle entered the Pike County Administrative Building for an appointment with a probation officer. Battle had plead guilty to aggravated assault involving a firearm in 2009, when he was 18, for a crime committed eight months earlier, when he was 17. He was convicted as an adult. Aggravated assault is a felony in Pennsylvania. Under Pennsylvania law Battle may not legally possess firearms.
Battle emptied his pockets as preparation to passing through a metal detector. An automatic knife with a four inch blade was part of the contents. A deputy saw the knife and examined it. Battle was arrested for illegal possession of an offensive weapon. The jury trial took place in 2016, and Battle was found guilty of possession of a prohibited offensive weapon. Battle was 25 years old.
An appeal was filed shortly after the conviction, based solely on the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The appeal did not reference Pennsylvania's state Constitution. Pennsylvania has a strong right to bear arms provision in the State's Constitution. From ucla.edu:
Pennsylvania: The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned. Art. 1, § 21 (enacted 1790, art. IX, § 21).
The superior court that heard William Battle's appeal found that switchblade knives are not protected by the Second Amendment, because they “serve no common lawful purpose”. Judge Lillian Harris Ransom wrote the memorandum. From the memorandum:
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Right next to the corsets and girdles.
Not really. She has absolutely no experience or ability in either field! In neither endeavor would she be "Out, standing in her field."
What really gets the libs is an automatic knife with more than a 10 round clip and silencer.
To give the judge a small benefit of some doubt, Pennsylvania law defines automatic knives as having “no common use”.
The judge cited that law.
Also, it appears that not much of a defense was written to support the appeal. There is an excellent article by David Kopel, for example, that I did not see cited anywhere.
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/11/knives-and-second-amendment-by-kopel.html
So, the judge just ruled on the Penn law, instead of doing serious research - which is really the defense’ job to provide.
Aren’t there some jurisdictions where locking knives, even if manual, are illegal? They want you to cut off your own fingers with your pocket knife!
It’s “right to bear arms” not “right to bear firearms”.
“Arms” is kind of generic.
The problem is not the implement, it’s the human agent. This judge, like SO MANY OTHERS, is a total ass. Just another slip and fall attorney with political connections, an agenda and no ability to think.
That, or a bayonet lug. Those things are dangerous.
I wonder if the perpetrator was white or black..??
Black.
What exactly is the difference between an "offensive" weapon and presumably a "defensive" weapon? I would challenge the mental midgets of the court to find any weapon that is only usable as one or the other. In short, their decision is based on not just one but two erroneous premise - 1) that a weapon can be classified as strictly offensive or defensive in nature. 2) that our Constitutionally protected rights only extend to non-offensive weapons.
In its discussion of the Second Amendment, the Heller Court explained that “the Second Amendment right, whatever its nature, extends only to certain types of weapons,” those “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens.” Heller, 128 S. Ct.
The Heller court couldn't be more wrong. The 2nd Amendment makes no such distinction. Keep and bear arms, period. Not, "keep and bear arms that meet these criteria..."
As such, the Constitutional right to bear arms affords no protection to “weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.” Id. at 2815–16
This argument is exactly, EXACTLY why the 2nd Amendment was written. "We're only going to limit you to what law-abiding people would have." Of course, we make up the laws and define what is law-abiding or not... Which is the exact reason the 2nd Amendment was written - to protect our innate right to keep and bear arms (note, unqualified "arms") and prevent the government - the law makers - from defining what was law-abiding or not and thus infringing upon that right.
Our Supreme Court has likewise recognized a limitation to the Second Amendment. “While the right to bear arms enjoys constitutional protection, like many other constitutional rights, it is not beyond regulation.”
Couldn't disagree more. Preventing such "regulation" is exactly why these rights are explicitly protected. The SCOTUS royally screwed the pooch on that one. It is embarrassing.
It is apparent from a review of Section 908 that “offensive weapons,” as defined in Pennsylvania, are atypical. They are not possessed by lawabiding citizens for lawful purposes and...
Well, that argument is false on it's face. Every one and every thing is law-abiding unless and until a law is made preventing it. Carrying a particular tool (knife, gun, screwdriver, tape measure...) is not a criminal act. There are numerous purposes for having any of those items that are not criminal in nature. The crime is created out of whole cloth by simply banning the possession of the item. It then becomes a circular justification for the "law."
The statute defines an offensive weapon, including “a dagger, knife, razor or cutting instrument, the blade of which is exposed in an automatic way by switch, push-button, spring mechanism, or otherwise.”
If you have ever had one hand full/busy/pinned/disabled in any way and need a knife, you'd appreciate having one that opens easily. Automatic, even simply assisted-opening knives are a tremendous safety enhancement. For every scenario they could contrive where such a knife is used illegally and it's "automatic" nature is necessary to the crime, I can come up with one where such a feature saves life and limb.
can i get one with a silencer or suppressor, or does that require a 200.00 fee to atf
I would be just as afraid to carry this into Texas as Pennsylvania.
I believe Knife Rights was able to have the Texas ban on automatic knives repealed two years ago.
http://staging.akti.org/news/texas-legislation-would-remove-switchbade-restrictions/
One word, “protection”! What ever it takes to protect one’s self from violence. What if he used a #18 Stilson wrench instead? I could never understand the big deal of a switchblade, when a lockback can open with the movement of your thumb just as quick.
I could never understand the big deal of a switchblade, when a lockback can open with the movement of your thumb just as quick.
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http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-switchblades-were-banned.html
Good synopsis of how it happened.
I was hearing news that they were trying. Still riding high on Kansas Constitutional carry (just updated my CCL, regardless - hoping for national reciprocity.
I travel from Ks down to El Paso and always leave my frog poker at home. It seems I am still outside the Texas law.
“Still illegal per Sec. 46.01(6)(C) are “dagger, including but not limited to dirk, stiletto and poniard.” There are no definitions for these knives in Texas law. Exercise caution as it is generally accepted that dagger includes any double-edged knife (and any double-edged switchblade would probably still be considered an illegal dagger).”
Some cops have $hitty days and I do my best to try to plan on not being on the receiving end of any authoritative legal explanations.
Still my fault. I should have just got the single edge blade. Double edged weapons are scary! The Bible uses them in comparison to the awesome power of the word of God.
Switchblades are legal here in Maine.
The same law that was signed in 2015 for Constitutional
Carry also made switchblades legal.
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