Carrying On Campus

I mentioned in a previous post how I almost had an altercation with some punks the other night. I mentioned that I was carrying a knife. Well, I always carry a knife. It's as much a part of my wardrobe as my socks and belt.

A knife is primarily a tool but it can make for a devastating and impressive weapon if you know how to wield it. I've only had to once, and I'd rather not do that again. However, if the situation requires it, I have that option.

Lately, I've been favoring a Benchmade Skirmish as my every day carry option. I used to switch between an Emerson Commander, an Al Mar SERE 2000, a Spyderco Military and a few others, but this one seems to be getting all the attention lately.

I recently got hassled a bit by the square-badge campus cops at the school I am attending. There has been quite a bit of crime around lately, and among miscellaneous car thefts and vandalism, several girls have been raped. Now the police are trying to be more serious, posting more patrols and generally being more vigilant. This is a good thing. It's not a good thing when they don't understand California code and hassle students unnecessarily.

They saw the clip of this big badass knife sticking out of my pocket. Apparently, that was enough probable cause to stop and hassle me. First, they wanted me to produce the knife. Then they were going to confiscate it.

Confiscate my $250 knife? Riiiight...

Here's one thing they can't dispute - the law. It's a simple fact that there are so many codes on the books that every officer can't know everything. Its nearly impossible. So, like a responsible citizen, I brushed up on my knife knowledge way long ago, when I worked in a knife shop.

I know that section 653k makes it legal for me to carry on my person a folding knife that does not have an automatic mechanism. I know that 626.10b makes it legal for me to carry that same knife on any private campus, UC, CSU or community college campus. I made sure that my area doesn't have any more restrictions, and I was good to go.

Unfortunately, these officers didn't know that. When I asked them to please check the above sections, they looked dumbfounded. When I explained why, the one guy looked pissed. A dollar gets you ten - he was going to keep my knife for himself. They didn't have a property receipt to give me, so there wasn't going to be any getting it back.

I can't carry a gun. The state doesn't trust me enough, but they let other assclowns carry...I can carry a knife pretty much anywhere I want, and I exercise that right daily. It IS legal to carry a concealed folding knife on college campuses in CA. If its good here, I know anybody else can do it.

Oops

This is what got me started thinking about always carrying a knife on campus and the problems I had with TPTB.