When in doubt, go to the state's Penal Code, General Statutes, or in PA, the Consolidated Statutes.
The term "knife" appears 10 times in the entire PA Consolidated Statutes specifically, 2 times in each of the following sections of Title 18 --- Sections 907, 908, 912, 913, 5122
Title 18 Section 908 provides the penalty for possessing an "offensive weapon", the legal definition of an "offensive weapon"' Underlining added for emphasis.... I left out paragraph (d) which lists the exemptions that basically say this does not apply to a LEO in the performance of his/her duties. To see the whole statute in question -
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdoc...Type=HTM&ttl=18&div=0&chpt=9&sctn=8&subsctn=0
§ 908. Prohibited offensive weapons.
(a) Offense defined.--A person commits a
misdemeanor of the first degree if, except as authorized by law, he
makes, repairs, sells, or otherwise deals in, uses, or possesses any offensive weapon.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) It is a defense under this section for the defendant to prove by a preponderance of evidence that he possessed or dealt with the weapon solely as a curio or in a dramatic performance, or that, with the exception of a bomb, grenade or incendiary device, he complied with the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.), or that he possessed it briefly in consequence of having found it or taken it from an aggressor, or under circumstances similarly negativing any intent or likelihood that the weapon would be used unlawfully.
(2) This section does not apply to police forensic firearms experts or police forensic firearms laboratories. Also exempt from this section are forensic firearms experts or forensic firearms laboratories operating in the ordinary course of business and engaged in lawful operation who notify in writing, on an annual basis, the chief or head of any police force or police department of a city, and, elsewhere, the sheriff of a county in which they are located, of the possession, type and use of offensive weapons.
(3) This section shall not apply to any person who makes, repairs, sells or otherwise deals in, uses or possesses any firearm for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.
(c) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:
"Firearm." Any weapon which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.
"Offensive weapons." Any bomb, grenade, machine gun, sawed-off shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches, firearm specially made or specially adapted for concealment or silent discharge, any blackjack, sandbag, metal knuckles,
dagger, knife, razor or cutting instrument, the blade of which is exposed in an automatic way by switch, push-button, spring mechanism, or otherwise, any stun gun, stun baton, taser or other electronic or electric weapon or other implement for the infliction of serious bodily injury
which serves no common lawful purpose.
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Note what I highlighted in
red text.
By the rules of grammar, the way the sentence is constructed, this would mean the language would only apply to a razor or cutting instrument. By that application/interpretation, the switchblade definition would only be applied to razors or cutting instruments. But this is not how the statute is interpreted.
Now lets look at what I highlighted in
blue, the word "
otherwise". Otherwise what????? Otherwise any other knife opening mechanism? Otherwise any other knife or cutting instrument??
When you read the statute, the way it is written COULD be interpreted by some as making it a 1st degree misdemeanor to possess ANY knife in the state of Pennsylvania, not just a switchblade (based on the red text modifier).
And now we get to the last highlighted section in
green. Does this modifier only apply to the electronic items appearing after the "otherwise" or does it apply to the whole list? Sandbags are declared "offensive weapons" but never defined. But you can use them for some common lawful practice like preventing flooding, right. So I can have a whole bunch of "sandbags", right? I can assume the writer of the statute was trying to mean what other folks call "saps", "coshes" "bat" "baton" "billy club", but it is never defined.
This type of poor grammar that politicians always write is one of the causes of confusion when someone who is NOT the writer of the law tries to interpret what the intent of the writer really was, which leads to the reliance on court cases to "clear things up", which in itself can lead to contradictions.
