I don't know if any of you guys follow (or care about) anti-knife legislation, but I see it exactly the same way I see anti-gun legislation.  Virtually all of it is wrong and pointless.

Anyway, there are two bill recently introduced in the general assembly regarding possession of knives on school grounds.  The way I see, school rules should deal with simple possession.  If someone uses a knife a assault someone else, we already have laws to cover that, and anyone who is willing to do so isn't going to be deterred by a law prohibiting possession.

Anyway, here are the numbers and summaries.  I'll be writing to my rep and senator soon.

HOUSE BILL No. 1269

Citations Affected: IC 35-47-5-2.5.
Synopsis: Prohibition of knives in schools. Makes possessing a knife (with certain exceptions) on school property: (1) a Class C misdemeanor for a person who is less than 21 years of age; and (2) a Class B misdemeanor for a person who is at least 21 years of age if the blade of the knife is more than two inches in length and the overall length of the knife is more than five inches.
Effective: July 1, 2006.

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HOUSE BILL No. 1093

Citations Affected: IC 35-47-5-2.5.
Synopsis: Possession of knives at school. Makes possessing a knife on school property or on a school bus a Class B misdemeanor. Makes the offense a Class A misdemeanor if the offender has a previous unrelated conviction and a Class D felony if the offense results in bodily injury or serious bodily injury to another person.
Effective: July 1, 2006

Would this apply to college campuses?  

I ask cause I don't know if Indiana considers Colleges the same as elementery and high schools.  

I don't believe Indiana recognizes colleges the same way as they do public schools.  From what I understand, you can carry onto a college campus.  If you're caught, they will tell you to leave, and you'll be arrested for trespassing if you don't.  If you're a student, they'll expel you.

Well now that is some serious bull crap 2 inches? 2 inches? I might as well start carrying an ice pick instead I mean hell I feel exposed enough on campus as it is without my pistol not to mention going on and off it through bad neighborhoods too. 2 inches my hide.... that's what a swis army knife keychain if that. They enforce that law and i tell you what'll happen, a ton of kids will get ecpelled as will I probably but man we gotta kill this one.

Sounds ridiculous

BAN SHARP PENCILS!   FOR THE CHILDREN!  THE HORROR...  THEY COULD POKE SOMEONE'S EYE OUT!!!

Letters and phone calls to your reps, Gentlemen!  

Yeah, two inches would make it illegal for a teacher or parent to have a standard size swiss army knife in their pocket.  But the size of the blade is irrelevant.  The bill is a bad, bad thing in general and must be stopped.

Re: colleges ... the IC doesn't define schools.  In practice, it seems that "school" applies only to preschools and K-12.  

If in doubt, be discreet.  Don't ask; don't tell.

Can't carry on campus.... rest my case this state is screwy.

Its called concealed carry for a reason.



RoseMech

first part of concealed is not sayin nothin bout it....

Let me guess...that Valpo incident where that kid went nuts in school?
Wow, how proactive.

You know, I have carried a knife since I was 10.
I remember a teacher borrowing mine to sharpen a pencil when the sharpener was broken.
Sad how far we have fallen.

We haven't fallen yet!  Keep sending letters and calling your reps!

Curiously, I got no response to this topic in the Indiana Clubhouse on GlockTalk.

Quoted: You know, I have carried a knife since I was 10. I remember a teacher borrowing mine to sharpen a pencil when the sharpener was broken.

I've had a swiss-army knife in my pocket since I was about that same age.  I remember using it to strip wires in an electricity/electronics class in high school.  Teacher never said a thing.  

Still no response at the GlockTalk Indiana Clubhouse.  

Anyway ... here is the letter I sent.  Feel free to use it as inspiration for your own, but I recommend using your own words.

--------

Dear :

Once again I am disappointed, but not surprised by more wrong-headed bills introduced by your peers in the legislature that are intended to penalize people for possession of inanimate objects.  In this case, I refer to House Bills 1093 and 1269, which seek to criminalize simple possession of a common, every day tool.  Please do everything you can to oppose any legislation seeking to criminalize possession of knives on school grounds (or anywhere else for that matter).

Whether or not students in schools should be allowed to possess pocket knives is a completely different and separate issue.  It is and should be addressed by school rules and regulations (although typically they are far too strict, especially with so-called “zero tolerance” policies taken to ridiculous extremes).  It should not be addressed by criminal law.

Instead, the actions of individuals (not objects) should be the focus of criminal laws.  If someone (student, teacher, or a visiting adult) simply possesses a knife on school grounds, what genuine harm is done?  The answer is “none.”  If that individual instead uses that knife to threaten or harm someone else, then we already have a variety of laws to address the assault and related crimes!  

Adding a law to criminalize simple possession of a knife on school grounds will only serve to make “criminals” of otherwise law abiding citizens, much in the same way gun control laws seek to do the same.  Making a criminal of a parent who visits his child’s school because he is carrying an ordinary tool (i.e. a pocket knife) is absurd and an insult to any rational person’s intelligence.  Such laws serve no useful purpose and are a gross violation of individual rights.    “Compromises” based on blade length are silly appeasement measures that are intended to make an otherwise foolish idea seem “reasonable.”  It’s directly analogous to the aggressively stupid notion of an “assault weapons ban” based on cosmetic features.

I urge you to oppose these anti-knife bills and all similar legislation.  Although it should go without saying, I also wish to remind you to continue opposing anti-gun legislation as well.  We need to abolish such useless laws, not create more of them.  They serve only promote an illusion of public safety that is not compatible with logic or reality.  

Respectfully,

Give me an email address and I'll make a nice simple letter....

Quoted: Give me an email address and I'll make a nice simple letter....

You'll have to know your own representative and state senator for that.  Sending them to mine won't do you much good.  

Go here www.in.gov to find the information you need to contact your rep and senator.