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mipafox

Reminder - No Knives in Philly

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90 days in jail, fixed. And a fine. Anybody want to spend time in a Philly county jail?

 

Yes, people carry knives in Philly. Yes, cops probably notice the clips and don't do anything. But people DO get prosecuted for just having a knife. And if you piss off a cop, it is the first thing he will do. Having an explanation, like Jersey, is worthless. Go to jail. ANY knife. Even taking it from the store to your home in the trunk. Only exception is ACTIVELY using it for your profession. There isn't even an exception to get it to your place of work. I guess you are supposed to mail it or something.

 

Look up the law yourselves and make your own decision if you want to take that risk. Risk is very small but getting pinched would be expensive and unpleasant.

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We were outside of Philly a few weekends ago and went into Philly to tour ESP. I made sure to leave my knife in the hotel, I'm not taking that chance even though we walked from the parking lot across the street to ESP.

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I went to some event in Philly (at the convention center?) years ago, I think a car show with a group of friends, and had forgotten to take the knife outta my pocket.  Had to go thru a metal detector, guess it's a damn good thing they didn't detect it.  I put it in my camera bag when I realized that.

 

I guess they were looking for guns more than knives and were looking to move a lot of people through quickly, but still...

 

I went into a courthouse recently with a large stainless steel watch on my wrist - forgot to take that off for the X-ray.  Wasn't even stopped for that.  Last time I went into a different courthouse, they detected the foil from a pack of gum.  (Interesting side note - the jacket I wore that day was the same one I went to the range with a few days prior.  Found a spent .223 casing in the finger of a glove in my jacket pocket, which they did not catch.  But they caught the foil.  Woulda been a fun time explaining that one...)

 

 

Why does it always gotta be the places I'd want to carry something are always the places they gotta say you can't have a damn thing on you?  What's Philly's stance on something like a Kimber Pepperblaster?

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http://www.phila.gov/philacode/html/_data/title10/CHAPTER_10_800_SAFETY/10_820_Cutting_Weapons_in_Publ.html

 

§10-820. Cutting Weapons in Public Places. [180]


(1) Definition.

Cutting Weapon. Any knife or other cutting instrument which can be used as a weapon that has a cutting edge similar to that of a knife. No tool or instrument commonly or ordinarily used in a trade, profession or calling shall be considered a cutting weapon while actually being used in the active exercise of that trade, profession or calling.

(2) Prohibited Conduct. No person shall use or possess any cutting weapon upon the public streets or upon any public property at any time.

(3) Penalty. The penalty for violation of this section shall be a fine of not less than three hundred (300) dollars and imprisonment of not less than ninety days.
 
So is protecting ones life considered ones "calling" in life? I would think so but.....
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This sounds nuts, I never carry a knife but when I go on camping trips in Pa we carry knifes, axs, small saw. Are they going to lock up all the Boy Scouts when they are camping? Aren't you allowed to carry a knife in NJ as long as it's < 4"? This is almost as stupid as PA residents not being allowed to by fireworks!

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This sounds nuts, I never carry a knife but when I go on camping trips in Pa we carry knifes, axs, small saw. Are they going to lock up all the Boy Scouts when they are camping? Aren't you allowed to carry a knife in NJ as long as it's < 4"? This is almost as stupid as PA residents not being allowed to by fireworks!

As I read it NJ knife law is a near-perfect model, not only for knives but for guns as well. A couple are banned, like switchblades, which is stupid. Other than that if you use it for evil it's a crime; if you're not doing anything bad it's ok. 

 

I've used my knife to open hand sanitizer wipe packages in ShopRite's lobby at least 5-6 times. That's ok. Using it to convince the cute girl at the courtesy counter into performing unnatural sex acts would be illegal.

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I went to some event in Philly (at the convention center?) years ago, I think a car show with a group of friends, and had forgotten to take the knife outta my pocket.  Had to go thru a metal detector, guess it's a damn good thing they didn't detect it.  I put it in my camera bag when I realized that.

 

I guess they were looking for guns more than knives and were looking to move a lot of people through quickly, but still...

 

I went into a courthouse recently with a large stainless steel watch on my wrist - forgot to take that off for the X-ray.  Wasn't even stopped for that.  Last time I went into a different courthouse, they detected the foil from a pack of gum.  (Interesting side note - the jacket I wore that day was the same one I went to the range with a few days prior.  Found a spent .223 casing in the finger of a glove in my jacket pocket, which they did not catch.  But they caught the foil.  Woulda been a fun time explaining that one...)

 

 

Why does it always gotta be the places I'd want to carry something are always the places they gotta say you can't have a damn thing on you?  What's Philly's stance on something like a Kimber Pepperblaster?

Metal detectors rely on magnetism, they only catch magnetic materials, neither austenitic stainless steel (most common) nor brass is magnetic.

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As I read it NJ knife law is a near-perfect model, not only for knives but for guns as well. A couple are banned, like switchblades, which is stupid. Other than that if you use it for evil it's a crime; if you're not doing anything bad it's ok. 

 

I've used my knife to open hand sanitizer wipe packages in ShopRite's lobby at least 5-6 times. That's ok. Using it to convince the cute girl at the courtesy counter into performing unnatural sex acts would be illegal.

"Gravity" knifes are also illegal in NJ. When I ride my motorcycle I sometimes carry my SOG pocket pliers and it has a small knife in it. I guess I am going to have to hide it in from now on instead of carrying it on my belt. I would never think that Pa would be so stringent with knifes and so open minded about hand guns. 

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"Gravity" knifes are also illegal in NJ. When I ride my motorcycle I sometimes carry my SOG pocket pliers and it has a small knife in it. I guess I am going to have to hide it in from now on instead of carrying it on my belt. I would never think that Pa would be so stringent with knifes and so open minded about hand guns. 

It would be like NJ banning guns but allowing bazookas.

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"Gravity" knifes are also illegal in NJ. When I ride my motorcycle I sometimes carry my SOG pocket pliers and it has a small knife in it. I guess I am going to have to hide it in from now on instead of carrying it on my belt. I would never think that Pa would be so stringent with knifes and so open minded about hand guns.

It's not PA. It's a Philly ordinance. Philly would ban guns if they could, but they can't pass gun laws.

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Thank you for the info mipa, I was not aware of this. Dino, as far as I know there is no blade length that is illegal in NJ. You cannot carry a knife in NJ for defense so be prepared to explain why you need a knife.

I thought someone posted about NJ knife law being < 4" a while ago on here.

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It's not PA. It's a Philly ordinance. Philly would ban guns if they could, but they can't pass gun laws.

How has this been allowed to stand? doesn't PA have Second  Amendment language in their state constitution - I thought that's why Phily hasn't been able to ban "Assault Weapons"  and the like? Does the PA constitution not cover knives?

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How has this been allowed to stand? doesn't PA have Second Amendment language in their state constitution - I thought that's why Phily hasn't been able to ban "Assault Weapons" and the like? Does the PA constitution not cover knives?

PA Constitution - Article I

 

Section 21 The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.

 

I don't know what would happen if you appealed your conviction AFTER you spent your 90 days in jail and gave your attorney $20,000 retainer to file the appeal. (cause you're not getting an appeal in 90s days) I don't know if it's been done.

 

PA law specifically preempts local regulation of firearms. So that's a non-issue. No law preempts knives. Constitutional conflicts are usually settled via appellate courts. I know there are movements in PA to preempt local laws on knives and other things but I don't think they have a lot of momentum at this time. Regaining liberty is a slow process and when the governor is illegally not passing budgets for a year after they are due the legislators have difficulty getting a coalition to work on such matters.

 

Also, since it only applies to Philly, and 80% of the people in Philly would probably support the law if they knew about it, the priority is rather low.

 

This is not something I know much about except JAIL. That is really the important concept.

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I went to some event in Philly (at the convention center?) years ago, I think a car show with a group of friends, and had forgotten to take the knife outta my pocket.  Had to go thru a metal detector, guess it's a damn good thing they didn't detect it.  I put it in my camera bag when I realized that.

 

I guess they were looking for guns more than knives and were looking to move a lot of people through quickly, but still...

 

I went into a courthouse recently with a large stainless steel watch on my wrist - forgot to take that off for the X-ray.  Wasn't even stopped for that.  Last time I went into a different courthouse, they detected the foil from a pack of gum.  (Interesting side note - the jacket I wore that day was the same one I went to the range with a few days prior.  Found a spent .223 casing in the finger of a glove in my jacket pocket, which they did not catch.  But they caught the foil.  Woulda been a fun time explaining that one...)

 

 

Why does it always gotta be the places I'd want to carry something are always the places they gotta say you can't have a damn thing on you?  What's Philly's stance on something like a Kimber Pepperblaster?

I was going through security at the U.S. (Tennis) Open a few years back. They snagged me at the walk-through metal detector. As I was removing my keys or change (see below) from my pocket I felt my edc knife. Removed the keys and prayed for the first time in quite a while. They wanded me but didn't detect the knife. 

 

The part about the wanding is 100% true but actually I don't remember the chronology. Sounds about right. 

 

I wouldn't try that again, especially in 2017.

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I always carry a knife and I often go to philly. I also don't go out of my way to hide it either. That said I don't through a lot of metal detectors. The way I see it much like jersey if your not a dick most cops will just give you a good look over.

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PA Constitution - Article I

Section 21 The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.

 

I love the wording of this. Not only can't it be infringed, but it can't even be questioned... that is, it's unconstitutional to even propose taking away this right.

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IIRC in New Jersey you need a 'reasonably articulable lawful purpose' for the knife (yeah, it's that vague) and I remember something about blade length  < 5" (minors only?).  However, I don't think blade length is statutory (explicit in the law).   IANAL of course.

Typically, in NJ if you use any instrument that can cause bodily harm of any kind as a weapon you're going to be charged with 2:C possession of a weapon for illegal purposes, even if it is a coffee cup.

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IIRC in New Jersey you need a 'reasonably articulable lawful purpose' for the knife (yeah, it's that vague) and I remember something about blade length  < 5" (minors only?).  However, I don't think blade length is statutory (explicit in the law).   IANAL of course.

 

Typically, in NJ if you use any instrument that can cause bodily harm of any kind as a weapon you're going to be charged with 2:C possession of a weapon for illegal purposes, even if it is a coffee cup.

The law has been posted a few times. As I read it you can carry pretty much any knife, except for a couple with evil features, for any lawful purpose. Seems like a model for gun laws. Example: I've used my knife to slice open the sanitary hand wipe packets at Shop Rite. OK. O'Rodrigo Smiff uses the same blade to force the pretty girl behind  the courtesy counter to perform deviant acts on him. Not OK.

 

Now that I have my NH carry permit can I carry a knife in Philly?

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So straight razors are pretty popular for shaving now, sounds like those are all illegal in Philadelphia too.

Is the international airport within this jurisdiction?  I fly out of there with knives all the time (checked of course).

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On 11/6/2016 at 4:43 PM, OfcrFek said:

Reading quickly, I thought this said "hamster" and got very VERY confused/concerned. lol

Depends if you carry a concealed hamster or not. And where you conceal it.

Would a multitool constitute a "cutting weapon"? I use pliers and screwdriver more than anything else.

 

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