are always illegal to possess in public.

Secondly, there's some types of knives

that you're allowed to have, you're

allowed to carry in public, but only if you do so openly

and visibly.

Third, there's categories of knives

that you're allowed to carry either openly or concealed.

And finally, fourth, there are some places

that have restrictions such that you can never carry knives

there, such as airports and schools and courthouses.

In this video, we're going to talk about these rules.

-Under California law, certain knives

are illegal under any circumstance.

You can't carry them openly or concealed.

Examples of these knives are ballistic knives,

switchblade knives, spring loaded knives,

belt buckle knives, cane swords, gravity knives,

lipstick case knives, and undetectable knives,

which is described as knives that cannot be detected going

through a metal detector.

-There are certain types of knives

that can be carried openly and visibly but not concealed.

In California, these types of knives

are called dirks or daggers.

And this is any knife that can be

ready used as a stabbing weapon and can

cause great bodily injury or death.

Examples of these types of knives

include daggers, stilettos, chef's knives, ice picks,

knitting needles, and scissors.

-There are some types of knives that you're

allowed to carry openly or concealed.

This category generally includes folding knives

other than switch blades, as long

as they're closed and in a locked position.

So examples would be box cutters, pocket knives,

Swiss army knives, and utility knives.

What distinguishes this category of utility knives which

are legal from switch blades, which are always illegal,

is that with utility knives, you have

to use pressure in order to open the knife from its closed

position.

Whereas if the knife opens automatically

with the press of a button or the flick of a wrist,

then it would be deemed a switch blade, again

a knife that's always illegal to carry.

-There's also laws in California restricting the places

that you can bring a knife.

They include any state or local public building

and any meetings open to the public.

It also includes any K through 12 schools or any universities

or college.

Other examples where you're precluded from bringing

in a knife includes courthouses, city halls, and airports.