New Missouri Switchblade Law

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javacupper
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New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by javacupper »

Recently Missouri passed a new law favorable for firearms and ammunition and lowering the age for acquiring a CCW license. What I just learned from Blade Switcher is that the law also changes the existing knife law starting on August 24 making possession of a switchblade a Class A felony, period. The current knife law says owning and carrying a switchblade is illegal but there is an exception for curios, mementos and collecting. When they wrote the new bill the exceptions for switchblades were completely left out. After learning this and looking farther, I did notice that Doug Ritter of Knife Rights is aware of the change and planning on working on a solution. Starting tomorrow I quess I'll start bugging some state legislators. :evil: I've got 28 days before I become an outlaw :twisted:
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Midnight Drums
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Midnight Drums »

Very depressing.....!

I guess we will be cell mates!

Mike
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Midnight Drums
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Midnight Drums »

I wonder if spring assisted knives are legal to carry before and after the change?


Mike
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javacupper
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by javacupper »

Midnight Drums wrote:I wonder if spring assisted knives are legal to carry before and after the change?


Mike
Depends on who you ask. Under the old law I asked a friend on the Creve Coeur Police Dept. about assisted knives. He checked with their legal dept. and told me that they considered them switchblades. He then told me that they would not hassle me about the assisted SOG Bi-Polar rescue knife I carry. The Chief of the St. Louis County Police told me that they considered assisted knives to be legal. I'm no expert but it looks to me that the new law relies on the federal definition of a switchblade which should mean that the assisted knife would not be considered a switchblade. However, the state law can be pre-empted by local municipalities so who's to say for sure. St. Louis County is made up of 91 municipalities. I live in Unincorporated St. Louis County under the St. Louis County Police where my assisted knife is legal. If I travel a mile or so in any direction, I enter Creve Coeur, Ladue, Maryland Heights, or Olivette where my assisted knife could be considered illegal. Preemption of the state law creates a real mess.
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Midnight Drums
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Midnight Drums »

I asked a friend who is a radio operator for MSHP, she didn't know if the highway patrol considers them legal or not.
She used to be an Arnold cop.

I just hope this state does not turn out like Illinois, where no one will even sell to us.



Mike
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JerrBear
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by JerrBear »

"The law is a ass - a idiot."


- Charles Dickens
(Oliver Twist)
JerrBear
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javacupper
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by javacupper »

Not being a lawyer I am trying to make sense of the new law. I did discover that under the new law possession of a switchblade is a class A misdemeanor rather than a felony as I previously stated. I also do not see a Missouri definition of a switchblade but instead it references the federal law under which an assisted knife is not a switchblade. As my experiences and your question to the MSHP indicates, this does not mean that any municipality or cop on the street is going to understand the law. I just talked to Doug Ritter at Knife Rights who indicated that neither he nor AKTI (the larger industry group) were aware of the changes to knife laws prior to the bill passage as it was so strongly represented as a gun and CCW bill. They believe that the dropping of the exceptions for collecting were an oversight but nothing can be done until the next legislative session but they are working on it.
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Viking45
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Viking45 »

This is very sad indeed. My point is- Why dig-up the knife law in the first place?
Missouri has always been pretty good about allowing collectors to own but not carry.

This just really gripes my *ss!
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Panzerfaust
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Panzerfaust »

I'm with Viking on this. Any idea why they changed the knife law when amending their firearms laws?
StevieWunder
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by StevieWunder »

Politicians never miss a chance to relieve citizens of their freedoms. Allows them to allocate that power to the people who REALLY pay them. :evil:
Is this fun,or WHUT?
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Viking45
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Viking45 »

Panzerfaust wrote:I'm with Viking on this. Any idea why they changed the knife law when amending their firearms laws?
Missouri is home to an enormous number of gun owners,hunters and knife enthusiasts.
Bass Pro was founded here and that says a lot about the number of sportsmen and outdoor-types.
When the elections came around I was blown away by the number of liberal voters-In fact Missouri is a Democratic state :roll:
This came as a huge shock considering what I know about the people here.
We obviously have a lot of lazy voters...or should I say non-voters.

There are hundreds of gun shops around and everyone here seems to be pro-firearms. So this new law is absurd and why it was brought up out of the blue is beyond me.
I only hope that if this thing gets out of hand that there are enough people willing to fight it.
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javacupper
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by javacupper »

I spent this evening reading both the existing law and the new law. They almost read the same except, while the exception for curios, ornaments, or keepsakes is essentially the same for both bills, in the new law it definitely omits switchblades under the items eligible for the exemptions. I did talk to Jan Billup at AKTI today. She said that they were having an executive meeting tomorrow and that she would bring up the Missouri law and have their lawyer look into it. Again, there is nothing that can be done about it until the next legislative session.
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Markco the Mad otter
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Markco the Mad otter »

Switchblades being illegal is so stupid...but if they weren't in so many places wonder what that would do to the prices...
SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!!
Tom19176
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Tom19176 »

As to the price question if they were legal: interesting to note that in the states they are legal the imports seem to cost more than online or elsewhere where they are not sold openly. I live in a state where you can own them under certain conditions, but not sell them. They are much cheaper here at shows then in AZ and FL where fellow collectors have visited and told of the prices there. The non auto Falcon line cost 30% of the price of the same knife with a butoon and spring added to it, and most of the non auto Falcons have better fit and finish then their more costly autos made, in some cases,at the same factory. I am not sure which way the price would go. The Assisted openers are well made by Kershaw and Buck and a few others and are fairly cheap for the steel and handle materials you get and they are pretty much legal everywhere....
Markco the Mad otter
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Re: New Missouri Switchblade Law

Post by Markco the Mad otter »

hmmm, maybe I need to get back out that way...or at least have someone like you do my shopping for me. :roll:
Can I send you a shopping list LOL
SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!!
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