Tennessee is a knife-user friendly State. With its latest updated knife laws, restrictions from owning or using knives have been repealed.
Let’s introduce you to the Tennessee state Knife Laws.
Knife Possession Laws
There is no banned knife here. Before the month of July 2014; switchblades were banned and there was a restriction to own this sort of knives. But the new law has welcomed all kinds of knives to own or possess in Tennessee right after then.
Now recheck which knives can be owned or possessed without any prohibitions.
- Switchblades are legal.
- Gravity knives and other automatic knives are legal.
- All kinds of pocket knives are legal.
- Balisong and butterfly knives are legal.
- Knives that are disguised under stuff like a pen, cane, lipstick or belt buckles etc. are legal.
- Bowie knives and other large single-edged knives are legal.
- Dirks, daggers, and stilettos and other double-edged knives are legal.
- All sorts of undetectable knives are legal.
- Throwing knives, throwing stars, nunchaku and other martial arts’ weapons are legal.
- Hunting, fishing or other utility knives are legal.
Knife Carrying Laws
Any kind of knives can be owned and at the same time, they can be carried openly or concealed anywhere except for the restricted places such as schools, govt. places or buildings and courthouses.
Before the update of the law, there was a restriction of carrying knives exceeding four inches of blade lengths. But, all these prohibitions have been repealed in the new laws and knife carrying in this State is now totally relaxing without any rules or regulations.
Though still some sites have not updated the law and might confuse you with the previous law that says about the blade length limit. There is no particular blade length for the knives have been set in the revised law. So, do not panic over this fact.
Knife Laws in the Schools
In Tennessee, the knife law still remains strict only for the schools and other educational institutions.
According to the knife statute, it is illegal to carry both openly or concealed and even to possess any bowie knife, dagger, switchblade, blackjack, metal knuckles, any explosive weapon and any other instrument like these categories on school premises. School premises include buildings, bus, campus, grounds, field or other property like library etc.
Even the law is also applicable for the personnel related to school or other educational institution’s board or board of trustees and similar to them. Only the knives could be solely used for school-sanctioned ceremonial purposes but this needs to be authentic.
It is a Class E felony whoever violates this law.
The section “§ 39-17-1309 – Carrying weapons on school property” mentions in details about all these.
“(b) (1) It is an offense for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, with the intent to go armed, any firearm, explosive, explosive weapon, bowie knife, hawk bill knife, ice pick, dagger, slingshot, leaded cane, switchblade knife, blackjack, knuckles or any other weapon of like kind, not used solely for instructional or school-sanctioned ceremonial purposes, in any public or private school building or bus, on any public or private school campus, grounds, recreation area, athletic field or any other property owned, operated, or while in use by any board of education, school, college or university board of trustees, regents or directors for the administration of any public or private educational institution.
(2) A violation of this subsection (b) is a Class E felony.”
Final Words
Knife laws in Tennessee are completely out of complicacy now. Do not get yourself confused with the old laws of 2010. New laws with the latest and friendly statues have been updated in 2014’s July. No restrictions to own, to carry and there remains no complexity except for the restrictions in Schools which are legit.
Resources:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2015/title-39/chapter-17/part-13/section-39-17-1309/
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/108/Bill/SB1438.pdf
http://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2010/title-39/chapter-17/part-13/39-17-1303
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