Can a scumbag civilian own a bullet proof vest? Someone here at work told me they thought there was also legislation against me owning one??

Ropes

last i heard, around here anyway, you could own one, but not wear one. typical liberal logic. [rolleyes]

In TX a civvy can buy em. I was looking at one at the last gunshow. Brand new(forgot which brand) Level IIa for 400+ dollars. In CA they are somewhat regulated. Depends on the state I guess.

I believe you can own and wear one.  The law doesn't allow wearing one while committing a crime.....hmmm, I guess gun control can work???

It's apparently legal to own and wear one in CO. I interviewed a kid in CO who's a budding freestyle MX jumper. He and his dad bought a vest (used) over the Internet for him to wear. They thought a bulletproof vest would be better than regular MX shoulder pads because it would permit greater freedom of movement and be hidden underneath the jersey, looking better.

The downside is that the vest is hot, but since you're only on the bike for a couple minutes in freestyle, that's minor. You wouldn't want to ride an entire 20-minute (or longer) moto wearing one! [:)]

Tried wearing an old flak vest in conjunction with leathers for roadracing.  Didn't allow enough flexibility for racing and it was too hot for even 10 minute races, but something like that - perhaps a more discreet, high airflow version - would be nice to have on the street.  Anything that stops a bullet can also diffuse the impact from car mirrors, aerials, poles, bumpers and most of the other things that motorcylists occasionally bump into.

I don't know of a single state that bans possession, purchase, or wear by law-abiding citizens. Most states (and there might be a federal law too) ban wearing it while committing a felony. There have been some proposals, not sure if they were successful, to ban possession by convicted felons.

Depends on the local (State) laws. I own four..
(Hey, when they turn up for what I think is cheap, I snag em.. A Second Chance DC for 75.00? Hell yes!)

Meplat-

I'll search for the law, but I'm pretty sure I read some NY law that said they are legal unless you're committing some other crime while wearing one

S 270.20 Unlawful wearing of a body vest.
 1.  A  person  is guilty of the unlawful wearing of a body vest
when acting either alone or with one or  more  other  persons  he
commits any violent felony offense defined in section 70.02 while
possessing a firearm  and in the course of and in furtherance  of
such crime he wears a body vest.
 2.  For  the  purposes  of  this  section a "body vest" means a
bullet-resistant  soft  body  armor  providing,  as   a   minimum
standard,  the  level of protection known as threat level I which
shall mean at least seven  layers  of  bullet-resistant  material
providing  protection from three shots of one hundred fifty-eight
grain lead ammunition fired from  a  .38  calibre  handgun  at  a
velocity of eight hundred fifty feet per second.
 The unlawful wearing of a body vest is a class E felony.