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Food

Paring Knives Aren't Constitutionally Protected Arms

Sorry, patriotic chefs: A top court in Washington state has ruled that although many knives are protected by the Second Amendment, the blades in your knife block aren't.
Photo via Flickr user dinnerseries

There's been a lot of talk of freedom in the good ol' US of A ever since a group of domestic terrorists "armed activists" decided to occupy a federal building on an Oregon wildlife refuge over the weekend.

"We will be here as a unified body of people that understand the principles of the Constitution," said a steadfast Ammon Bundy, son of infamous fed-hating rancher Cliven Bundy, who is leading the group.

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Reports have been scant on exactly what kind of weapons these patriots are packing, but it's safe to assume that these lay experts in the Constitution are sticking to the old-fashioned, Second Amendment-protected gun, no?

Well, it turns out that the Second Amendment extends not only to our dear lethal friend the gun, but also to most knives, as they are "typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes," which the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008. More broadly, the case extended Constitutional protection to just about any weapon that was commonly used for self-defense at the time of our nation's founding.

Yes, fellow Americans: We all can follow in the footsteps of our British brethren and start carrying Constitutionally protected blades to defend ourselves from tyranny.

That is, unless we're talking about paring knives—those little utility blades that make short work of limes and tomato flower garnishes.

Last week, Washington state's Supreme Court ruled that, in keeping with the Heller decision, "the right to bear arms protects instruments that are designed as weapons traditionally or commonly used by law abiding citizens for the lawful purpose of self-defense."

The Washington case involved a man who was arrested in Seattle after police officers discovered that he was carrying a small paring knife in his pocket during the course of a traffic stop. The court ruled that such a knife "is a utility tool, not a weapon," even though Oregon typically considers switchblades, dirks, billy clubs, and police batons as "protected." Long story short: If it's been designed to hurt a human rather than core a bell pepper, you're more than likely allowed to carry it.

So keep that in mind the next time you clock out of your shift in the kitchen and want to demonstrate your love of America with an instrument of deadly force. Leave the paring knife at your station and pick up a Constitutionally protected switchblade instead.