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Tacoma to outlaw spiked ball flails. Problem in Tacoma?
Butterfly knives, stun guns and spiked ball flails would be banned from Tacoma stores under an ordinance the City Council is considering.Samurai swords, daggers and hatchets would not. Thats the compromise officials made after struggling for more than a year to figure out how to stop the sale of some weapons without also banning the sale of kitchen knives. The issue arose out of neighborhood complaints about convenience stores selling swords, daggers and other weapons. Assistant City Attorney Jon Walker said officials couldnt ban the sale of swords because they couldnt adequately define them. A butterfly knife is easy to define, he said. A sword is much more difficult to define, at least in terms of the law. On paper, a bread knife and a small sword sound pretty similar. There may be someone smarter than me who could come up with a definition, but we needed something that would hold up in front of a jury, Walker said. Council members heard the first reading of the ordinance Tuesday night. Theyre expected to vote on it next week. The proposed ordinance expands the list of knives and weapons that stores are banned from selling to include slingshots, fighting knives, some martial arts weapons and electroshock devices such as Tasers. Fighting knives include knives with multiple blades, knives disguised as a pen or a cane and knives that automatically open when pulled from a sheath. Stores could continue to sell swords, daggers and other kinds of knives. However, the existing ordinance already limited how people could carry them. Individuals are prohibited from carrying dangerous knives or deadly weapons on their person or in their vehicle unless the item is secured in some kind of container, such as a wrapper or a toolbox, and is being carried to a repair shop, from a persons home to their place of business or from one house to another if the person is moving. A dangerous knife is defined as having a blade more than 31/2 inches or any dagger, sword, bayonet, bolo knife, hatchet, straight-edge razor or razor blade not in its package or shaving appliance. A deadly weapon is defined as an instrument capable of being used offensively or defensively and likely to cause death or serious bodily harm. The proposed ordinance would add exemptions for law enforcement officers, animal control officers, military officers and scuba divers. Licensed hunters, boaters and anglers were already exempt while hunting, camping or fishing. Walker said there are stores currently selling items that would be prohibited under the new ordinance. Hes hoping for voluntary compliance with the new rules. Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-07-20 |
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