Why are knife control laws so strong in the United States as opposed to gun control?
I was realizing it would be nice to have a knife with auto opening for boxes, etc., basically a switch blade or similar, and I found out that they are super illegal in my state (and/or there are length restrictions, or both sides of the blade can’t be sharp, etc), but I can go into a sporting goods store and buy a pistol and ammo in under 30min.
Shooting open an Amazon box seems inefficient. What is up with restrictive knife-control laws??
There are also length laws and switch laws. I know, because I once had a hunting knife that was slightly over the length limit. The RCMP insisted I grind it down and submit it for inspection.
However, such restrictions are use-based; you can have a set of steak knives that are over the limit, because their intended use is obviously not against humans. But if someone pulls a steak knife on someone in public, they’ll run afoul of the knife laws.
I once sat on a jury for an attempted manslaughter knifing that took place in a kitchen with a steak knife, where both participants were drunk at the time; lots of interesting arguments were made by both sides.
Unless there’s some provincial law, RCMP was fucking with you. There is no length law.
https://www.bladescanada.com/FAQ-Frequently-Asked-Questions
The only reference to knives in the criminal code concerns so called automatic knives:
https://laws.justice.gc.ca/Search/Search.aspx?txtS3archA11=knife&txtT1tl3="Criminal+Code"&h1ts0n1y=0&ddC0nt3ntTyp3=Acts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_legislation#Canada
https://www.staysafevancouver.com/post/can-i-carry-a-knife-in-canada