Va chp -> fl cwp

[tyeo098]

I'm traveling on a vacation to Florida, during which vacation I promised my mother that my beloved CZ75 would not accompany me. (Liberal grandparents who could care less, but mother being who she is 'emotional intelligence' etc.)

Anyway, in VA my CHP only allows me to carry a concealed handgun, but in Florida, you are issued a CWP which covers all other sorts of fun instruments (anything from switchblades to butterfly knives). In VA, I carry my assisted opener knife because there is no law against it, HOWEVER, in Florida, its specifically illegal to carry anything "other than a common pocketknife" without a CWP. I also have an email from the Brevard County Sheriff stating that my assisted-opener is NOT common and he advised me to NOT carry it w/o a CWP.

So my question: Does my VA CHP allow me to carry my 'uncommon' pocketknife as if it were a FL CWP due to reciprocity? Or will my only line of defense be my abnormally-bright microstream?

tl;dr: Does reciprocity make my VA CHP a FL CWP?

 

[Ehtereon11B]

This seems like a rather legal pothole in terms of how far state agreements go. I would say follow the advice of the Sheriff and leave your assisted opening knife at home. If you still feel the need to have a knife on the vacation, carry a typical non-assisted opening knife to have your legal bases covered.

 

[MedWheeler]

Federal law defines a "switchblade" as a folding knife that has a button, lever, or other mechanism that, when actuated, causes the blade to suddenly flick open.

Florida used to apply the same definition (technically, still does), and there was the common perception from 1958, when the Federal regulations regarding switchblades were passed, until 2003, when Florida law prohibiting "self-propelled" blades was clarified to not include switchblades, that switchblades were illegal in the state. They are not. However, they are generally not regarded as "common pocketknives." The word "switchblade" does not appear within the state statutes.

An "assisted-open" knife is not a switchblade by the above definition, as there is no button, lever, or other mechanism to actuate the opening action. The little nub you use to spring the blade open is actually part of the blade; it is not a separate actuating-mechanism.

Per case history, folding knives with blades of four inches or less in length fall within the category of "common pocketknives." There is no clause in either case history or in statute to address "assisted-open" folders, so they are not prohibited.

Oh, and by the way, Florida law prohibits the open-carrying of firearms and electric weapons or devices, but does not prohibit the open carrying of knives, of any type (though some localities may have ordinances that do.)

Carry your SOG or K-BAR ten-inch fixed-blade in a sheath on your belt, and see if your mom would rather you had simply concealed a firearm instead!

(I visited my mom in NC this past summer, and had three guns with me, one of which was on me at all times. She never knew.)