Legal Question...

[jks9199]

Yeah a cousin of mine likes driving these old junker cars and also likes carrying a big Bowie knife in a sheath under his front seat. He has lots of stories about getting stopped in the outback of Montana and Wyoming and Idaho and other states and warning the cop about the Bowie knife under the seat while they're searching around for pot/meth and other drugs. LOL

He says they always do the same thing ... pull out the Bowie knife, put it on the front seat, rifle around the car, and then hand it back to him when they're done.

He's been lucky. In my area, admittedly a suburban verging on urban area... If you're carrying a Bowie knife, dirk, machete, or like object, underneath the driver seat as you describe... He'd probably have been charged with carrying a concealed weapon. If you're coming back from hunting or something like that... put it in the trunk, the back of the car or wherever. The bottom line is simple; know where your going, and don't be a knucklehead if you've got dangerous stuff in the car, no matter how legitimately you've got it!

Returning to the original question... As I said -- broadly speaking, you're probably okay carrying almost any reasonable martial arts weapons to and from class, especially if they're being carried in a way that's not going to put them immediately to hand. Some items may be more restricted (like shuriken/throwing stars), but even those are likely to be tolerated if they're carried in a reasonable manner (case in a bag, for example) and aren't immediately available to an occupant of the car. Of course, my opinion here is just that, and NOT a substitute for appropriate professional legal guidance. It and $3 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks...

I just wouldn't carry wooden training weapons in a car for long periods, simply because the car is a crappy environment; I basically steamed a bend into a bo staff that way once...

 

[lostinseattle]

I just wouldn't carry wooden training weapons in a car for long periods, simply because the car is a crappy environment; I basically steamed a bend into a bo staff that way once...

Yeah, I've gotten bends in my staffs just because of leaving them too close to the heater in the house.

What I do carry in my car is an ice remover. It's plastic and steel. On one end, it has a nice long brush and on the other end, a plastic scraper. In short, on one end it has a nice throat destroyer and the other end is nice for blocking any sort of edged weapon.

Of course, that's just so I can get rid of the ice ... been stopped twice with it in front of the passenger seat and the cops never asked about it. LOL

 

[redfang]

Wow, we went from a question about carrying a jo/bokken in the car to shooting someone...
I think when you carry a weapon in your car, you have to follow some rules of common sense, which I would sum up like this, then here LEO can confirm or correct me:
1_ You are pulled over you hand over your ID and proof of insurance as usual, no need to say "oh officer I got a weapon here with me", which to me if I was a LEO would sound suspect;
2_ If the weapon is visible from the outside, which in my opinion if it is legal to carry would be the best option, the LEO will probably ask you to step out and ask about the weapon...so just step out;
3_ Don't even think about touching the weapon. Let the LEO pull the weapon out of the car and handle it;
4_ If the LEO instead of putting the weapon in the car hands it over to you just reaceive the weapon (don't grab it from his hands, I would even handle it with 2 fingers instead of closing the whole hand around it) and without sudden movement place the weapon back in the car, paying attention never to have your hands disappear from the LEO sight or pointing the weapon towards the LEO (even tho in most Martial Art an attack with the weapon almost never starts with the weapon pointed at the opponent).

I think following just a common sense guide line will prevent from any kind of trouble for you and the LEO.

I consider it a courtesy, and a wise one, to let me know at the beginning of an encounter if you have any type of weapon with you and where it is.

As to #3, if I'm going to secure a weapon, then yes, I want to be the one doing so. I don't want anyone, even the most law abiding citizen handling weapons in my vicinity during an encounter.

#4, When the encounter is over and I am returning a weapon to a citizen, I never hand it over. If they have a car, I'll ask them to pop the trunk and will put it into the trunk and ask them not to retrieve it until I leave. if no car is involved, I'll usually set it down out of arms reach and ask them not to retrieve it until I leave.

That being said, I do not secure every weapon I come across. If someone had a practice sword in the back seat, not easily accessible, I would ask them about it, but probably would not automatically secure it, or have them step out of the vehicle. It would depend on the nature of the encounter.

 

[jks9199]

I consider it a courtesy, and a wise one, to let me know at the beginning of an encounter if you have any type of weapon with you and where it is.

I'm going to voice my opinion on this... Personally, I don't care if you've got a katana in the trunk, or almost any other martial arts weapon -- whether practice/wooden/"Nerf" or live -- or anywhere else in the car, IF I am unlikely to see it, and it's not somewhere you can lay your hands on it. I do care about ANY AND ALL firearms in the car, as well as anything that might become visible to me. Knife in the glovebox? Yeah, tell me. Gun (with valid CCW permit) on your hip... Tell me. Bokken in the trunk? Not really an issue. Recall that I've previously mentioned my dislike of surprises during traffic stops -- especially of the large, deadly, or dangerous kind -- and let that be your guide. In other words... I don't care about the machete in your trunk because you're on your way over to prune your mom's hedges. But do mention that bag full of throwing stars in the gym bag on the front passenger seat as you head off to class...

As to #3, if I'm going to secure a weapon, then yes, I want to be the one doing so. I don't want anyone, even the most law abiding citizen handling weapons in my vicinity during an encounter.

I cannot emphasize this strongly enough... If you've got a knife, gun, etc., and a cop is asking "what is that?" or some similar situation... We want answers in WORDS, not demonstration. I've had two incidents that almost got really bad when I asked someone about something, and they said "Oh, THIS? It's a..." and started to pull it out. One was an Airsoft gun (which looked frighteningly real!), and the other was a knife. It's a simple rule... DON'T TOUCH POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS THINGS OR THINGS THAT LOOK LIKE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS THINGS AROUND COPS! Failing to heed that rule may end up with you getting a very unpleasant point of view of one of the more dangerous things we carry...

#4, When the encounter is over and I am returning a weapon to a citizen, I never hand it over. If they have a car, I'll ask them to pop the trunk and will put it into the trunk and ask them not to retrieve it until I leave. if no car is involved, I'll usually set it down out of arms reach and ask them not to retrieve it until I leave.

That being said, I do not secure every weapon I come across. If someone had a practice sword in the back seat, not easily accessible, I would ask them about it, but probably would not automatically secure it, or have them step out of the vehicle. It would depend on the nature of the encounter.

For me, it depends on the situation and the encounter. You've been decent to me, and I know what's going on, I may hand you something like a katana back, rather than lay it somewhere that it could get harmed. But, often, I'll put it on top of your car, or in the trunk, and let you know. It's the same sort of thing if I see martial arts gear in the back seat; I may ask about and tell you to leave it alone -- but if you make me a little hinky, you're getting out of the car.

 

[lostinseattle]

You've been decent to me, and I know what's going on, I may hand you something like a katana back, rather than lay it somewhere that it could get harmed. But, often, I'll put it on top of your car, or in the trunk, and let you know. It's the same sort of thing if I see martial arts gear in the back seat; I may ask about and tell you to leave it alone -- but if you make me a little hinky, you're getting out of the car.

And this is something I'd add to which is ALWAYS be nice to cops. Always be nice to cops.

Even if they're being complete jerks which sometimes happens, always be nice to them. If they do something bad to you, you can always sue them later, but it's a lot harder recovering from a bullet or a stick to the head.

Given the threats out there a lot of LEOs are way stressed and any bad behavior on your part will only make things worse for you and make things more dangerous for everyone.