-First of all, there's some knives
are always illegal to possess in public.
Secondly, there's some types of knives
that you're allowed to have, you're
allowed to carry in public, but only if you do so openly
and visibly.
Third, there's categories of knives
that you're allowed to carry either openly or concealed.
And finally, fourth, there are some places
that have restrictions such that you can never carry knives
there, such as airports and schools and courthouses.
In this video, we're going to talk about these rules.
-Under California law, certain knives
are illegal under any circumstance.
You can't carry them openly or concealed.
Examples of these knives are ballistic knives,
switchblade knives, spring loaded knives,
belt buckle knives, cane swords, gravity knives,
lipstick case knives, and undetectable knives,
which is described as knives that cannot be detected going
through a metal detector.
-There are certain types of knives
that can be carried openly and visibly but not concealed.
In California, these types of knives
are called dirks or daggers.
And this is any knife that can be
ready used as a stabbing weapon and can
cause great bodily injury or death.
Examples of these types of knives
include daggers, stilettos, chef's knives, ice picks,
knitting needles, and scissors.
-There are some types of knives that you're
allowed to carry openly or concealed.
This category generally includes folding knives
other than switch blades, as long
as they're closed and in a locked position.
So examples would be box cutters, pocket knives,
Swiss army knives, and utility knives.
What distinguishes this category of utility knives which
are legal from switch blades, which are always illegal,
is that with utility knives, you have
to use pressure in order to open the knife from its closed
position.
Whereas if the knife opens automatically
with the press of a button or the flick of a wrist,
then it would be deemed a switch blade, again
a knife that's always illegal to carry.
-There's also laws in California restricting the places
that you can bring a knife.
They include any state or local public building
and any meetings open to the public.
It also includes any K through 12 schools or any universities
or college.
Other examples where you're precluded from bringing
in a knife includes courthouses, city halls, and airports.