Employment

[SF Native]

Yes and no, in my experience if your not being a jackass with your knife then you have no problem, If you are being a jackass then the police have a reason to stop you.

That’s how it is here anyway, I’ve never been stopped, searched or otherwise given grief over having a knife.

It seems the way you carry yourself if more relevant than if you’re carrying a knife.

That seems to work really well in many places in the US too. Things break down a bit when you have a diverse population and certain segments of the population are stopped and searched much more often. And many times, how you carry yourself has nothing to do with it. Wish it wasn’t so, but it happens a lot.

[Daveho]

Yes and no, in my experience if your not being a jackass with your knife then you have no problem, If you are being a jackass then the police have a reason to stop you.

That’s how it is here anyway, I’ve never been stopped, searched or otherwise given grief over having a knife.

It seems the way you carry yourself if more relevant than if you’re carrying a knife.

That seems to work really well in many places in the US too. Things break down a bit when you have a diverse population and certain segments of the population are stopped and searched much more often. And many times, how you carry yourself has nothing to do with it. Wish it wasn’t so, but it happens a lot.

That’s true, i visited DC a while back and know what you mean.
The tension was evident

[Ankerson]

Yes and no, in my experience if your not being a jackass with your knife then you have no problem, If you are being a jackass then the police have a reason to stop you.

That’s how it is here anyway, I’ve never been stopped, searched or otherwise given grief over having a knife.

It seems the way you carry yourself if more relevant than if you’re carrying a knife.

That seems to work really well in many places in the US too. Things break down a bit when you have a diverse population and certain segments of the population are stopped and searched much more often. And many times, how you carry yourself has nothing to do with it. Wish it wasn’t so, but it happens a lot.

That’s true, i visited DC a while back and know what you mean.
The tension was evident

I used to live in MD, been to DC a lot over the years.

Don't get me started on that, but I will say LEO's do the best they can in those types of areas.

Basically it's one of 2 things:


Too many LEO so they can't do all of the illegal crap they do so they complain because of all the arrests etc.

Not enough LEO so they complain that the LE doesn't care about them.


LE really can't win no matter what they do.

Baltimore is a War Zone currently..... Take that for what it is.


Used to live in Baltimore back in the 70's and I can't tell you how many times I saw blood on the sidewalk or in the gutters when walking to school etc. And that was back then when it wasn't that bad.

[Anduril]

This is a tough post to read, and since I'm relatively new to the forum, I thought long and hard about responding. @nicktheodore, you're a grown man, and you don't need to be lectured. You're going to make your own choices in life for better and (at times) worse. That said, you should understand that the Bill of Rights (including the 2nd Amendment) gives us rights that cannot be unreasonably infringed by the federal government. For the first 110 years of our constitutional republic, state and local governments could trample all over those rights, unless they were protected by individual state constitutions. It wasn't until the Bill of Rights was "incorporated" through the 14th Amendment that rights like these were protected from infringement by state and local government. With very few exceptions, the Constitution does not protect your rights from infringement by private parties like non-governmental employers. Congress could pass a law that protects knife rights in the workplace, but they have not. So if a private employer says "no knives in the office," that's entirely fair game. For the same reason, you can't tell your employer "I won't wear this uniform because it infringes on my 1st Amendment right to self-expression" unless you're okay with getting fired. If you don't want to wear the uniform, don't take the job.

I suppose that's what you did by quitting. You effectively decided that the job wasn't for you because you didn't want to "wear the uniform." Let me make a case though for why it's reasonable for an employer to have a policy like this. Their goal is to make all employees feel safe and respected, and to prevent avoidable HR problems. As we all know, some people are freaked out by knives in the workplace. Or annoyed by loud music from a neighboring cubicle. Or allergic to someone else's perfume. The employer is just trying to make a pleasant work environment for everyone, and that requires some sensible compromises. This is just about getting along in a social environment. It's why many of us here who work in offices will EDC a Dragonfly instead of a DLC'd assisted-opening brass-knuckled karambit with a skull bead dangling from the handle. I'm not trying to prove a point about anything when I slice an apple or open an Amazon box. I'm not trying to force a conversation about 2nd Amendment rights. I go to work to earn a paycheck to support my family (and my Spyderco addiction).

[Daveho]

This is a tough post to read, and since I'm relatively new to the forum, I thought long and hard about responding. @nicktheodore, you're a grown man, and you don't need to be lectured. You're going to make your own choices in life for better and (at times) worse. That said, you should understand that the Bill of Rights (including the 2nd Amendment) gives us rights that cannot be unreasonably infringed by the federal government. For the first 110 years of our constitutional republic, state and local governments could trample all over those rights, unless they were protected by individual state constitutions. It wasn't until the Bill of Rights was "incorporated" through the 14th Amendment that rights like these were protected from infringement by state and local government. With very few exceptions, the Constitution does not protect your rights from infringement by private parties like non-governmental employers. Congress could pass a law that protects knife rights in the workplace, but they have not. So if a private employer says "no knives in the office," that's entirely fair game. For the same reason, you can't tell your employer "I won't wear this uniform because it infringes on my 1st Amendment right to self-expression" unless you're okay with getting fired. If you don't want to wear the uniform, don't take the job.

I suppose that's what you did by quitting. You effectively decided that the job wasn't for you because you didn't want to "wear the uniform." Let me make a case though for why it's reasonable for an employer to have a policy like this. Their goal is to make all employees feel safe and respected, and to prevent avoidable HR problems. As we all know, some people are freaked out by knives in the workplace. Or annoyed by loud music from a neighboring cubicle. Or allergic to someone else's perfume. The employer is just trying to make a pleasant work environment for everyone, and that requires some sensible compromises. This is just about getting along in a social environment. It's why many of us here who work in offices will EDC a Dragonfly instead of a DLC'd assisted-opening brass-knuckled karambit with a skull bead dangling from the handle. I'm not trying to prove a point about anything when I slice an apple or open an Amazon box. I'm not trying to force a conversation about 2nd Amendment rights. I go to work to earn a paycheck to support my family (and my Spyderco addiction).

Thank you for taking the time to write this.
Excellent response

[Daveho]

Yes and no, in my experience if your not being a jackass with your knife then you have no problem, If you are being a jackass then the police have a reason to stop you.

That’s how it is here anyway, I’ve never been stopped, searched or otherwise given grief over having a knife.

It seems the way you carry yourself if more relevant than if you’re carrying a knife.

That seems to work really well in many places in the US too. Things break down a bit when you have a diverse population and certain segments of the population are stopped and searched much more often. And many times, how you carry yourself has nothing to do with it. Wish it wasn’t so, but it happens a lot.

That’s true, i visited DC a while back and know what you mean.
The tension was evident

I used to live in MD, been to DC a lot over the years.

Don't get me started on that, but I will say LEO's do the best they can in those types of areas.

Basically it's one of 2 things:


Too many LEO so they can't do all of the illegal crap they do so they complain because of all the arrests etc.

Not enough LEO so they complain that the LE doesn't care about them.


LE really can't win no matter what they do.

Baltimore is a War Zone currently..... Take that for what it is.


Used to live in Baltimore back in the 70's and I can't tell you how many times I saw blood on the sidewalk or in the gutters when walking to school etc. And that was back then when it wasn't that bad.

Thing is I was a 13 year old white Australian tourist, here in Aus we just don’t have that kind of tension or history.
We do have a past with our aboriginal people with some parallels to the history with your native Americans but the history of the African Americans is so foreign to us here.

I will note as a generalisation once my family and I opened our mouths and it became very evident that wherent locals everyone was so helpful and we had some great chats with so many folk, it’s not an experience I would trade.

[curlyhairedboy]

As someone born in DC who has family all over the country, I'll say this:

I've walked past many a LEO while having a DC-legal Spyderco (less than 3 inch blade) clipped to my pocket. Not a single one even looked askance at me.

I was pulled over while riding a bicycle along the street near my grandfather's farm in Soybean Country. Was not carrying anything except my wallet.

Point is, LEO attitudes vary according to their expectations, and you'll get treated far differently depending on where you go.

The best LEOs live and work according to the priorities: serve and protect.

[tvenuto]

[Ankerson]

Just about everyone I know moved out of Baltimore and the ones that are still there will be getting out soon enough.

[tvenuto]

Count me in the former group.

[The Meat man]

Yes and no, in my experience if your not being a jackass with your knife then you have no problem, If you are being a jackass then the police have a reason to stop you.

That’s how it is here anyway, I’ve never been stopped, searched or otherwise given grief over having a knife.

It seems the way you carry yourself if more relevant than if you’re carrying a knife.

That seems to work really well in many places in the US too. Things break down a bit when you have a diverse population and certain segments of the population are stopped and searched much more often. And many times, how you carry yourself has nothing to do with it. Wish it wasn’t so, but it happens a lot.

That’s true, i visited DC a while back and know what you mean.
The tension was evident

Tension is right...
A number of years ago some friends and I were in DC, visiting the museums there, and we decided to see the national aquarium there. I had my normal pocket equipment with me, among which the only knife was one on my Leatherman. Big mistake. We walked in the building and were confronted with apparently airport-like security. The guards were all extremely rude and either ignored our questions, or else snapped unintelligible one-word answers.
Anyway long story short, they saw the Leatherman sheath on my belt, got mad, and ordered me to leave the building. I had to wait outside for my buddies to bring out all my pocket stuff for me.

It was pretty ridiculous.

[MichaelScott]

I’ve gone on two recent trips to visit our son in New York City. Was there about a week each time. Went all over the city on subways, busses and foot. Museums, ball games, soul food in Harlem, China Town area, Central Park. Everyone was courteous and friendly. Our son lives in a predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhood and I walked around everywhere, markets, coffee shops, parks (pretty hot baseball games in the neighboring park) and felt nor observed no issues or tension.

Of course I didn’t carry a knife at all nor have a multi tool on my belt. That’s asking for issues. Why do that and expect everything to be smooth sailing in places where you know, or should know, it will cause problems?

[The Meat man]

I’ve gone on two recent trips to visit our son in New York City. Was there about a week each time. Went all over the city on subways, busses and foot. Museums, ball games, soul food in Harlem, China Town area, Central Park. Everyone was courteous and friendly. Our son lives in a predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhood and I walked around everywhere, markets, coffee shops, parks (pretty hot baseball games in the neighboring park) and felt nor observed no issues or tension.

Of course I didn’t carry a knife at all nor have a multi tool on my belt. That’s asking for issues. Why do that and expect everything to be smooth sailing in places where you know, or should know, it will cause problems?

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly didn't expect airport-style security at an aquarium.

Sounds like you had a nice time in NYC.

[Ankerson]

I’ve gone on two recent trips to visit our son in New York City. Was there about a week each time. Went all over the city on subways, busses and foot. Museums, ball games, soul food in Harlem, China Town area, Central Park. Everyone was courteous and friendly. Our son lives in a predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhood and I walked around everywhere, markets, coffee shops, parks (pretty hot baseball games in the neighboring park) and felt nor observed no issues or tension.

Of course I didn’t carry a knife at all nor have a multi tool on my belt. That’s asking for issues. Why do that and expect everything to be smooth sailing in places where you know, or should know, it will cause problems?

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly didn't expect airport-style security at an aquarium.

Sounds like you had a nice time in NYC.

Those types of attrations are prime Terrorist targets so they have been cracking down.

[ChrisinHove]

I think if you exercise a little common sense within reason you can likely carry whatever you like in Oz albeit not legally.

Really. OK. So what you’re saying is that you’re “free” to sneak around with items that you’ll be prosecuted for if you’re found carrying them.

According to your laws, “you can, but you may not.”

See, that doesn’t fly with Americans.

A little common sense and discretion go a long way here in Oz.

We speak the same language brother but we’re different people with different cultures. One example would have to be the fact that I don’t know anyone here that carries anything other than their wits for self defence. :)

Hear-hear!

[Stuart Ackerman]

Thankfully, using a knife at work is perfectly fine. So I cycle between Spydies and my own fixed blades.
Dem boxes and plastic strapping need to be cut somehow... :)