Quick Legal Facts
Statewide Preemption:
No.
Concealed Carry:
Concealed carry is permitted for folding knives that are not switchblades or spring-activated.
Minors:
Maryland law provides that minors in specified non-rural counties may not carry a dangerous weapon, whether concealed or not, between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise, except while hunting or engaged in some specifically related activity.
Schools:
A person may not possess a knife on public school property.
Major Cities with Knife Ordinances:
Baltimore (Switchblades)
Restricted Knives:
It is unlawful to sell, barter, display, or offer to sell or barter a “switchblade” (automatic knife) or a “shooting knife” (ballistic knife). It is not unlawful to acquire, possess, or openly carry such knives.
Maryland law allows a “penknife without a switchblade” to be carried openly or concealed. A “penknife” is “any knife with the blade folding into the handle”. Other types of knives (other than penknives) are considered weapons and as such may be carried openly by a person without “intent or purpose of injuring an individual in an unlawful manner”. Carrying a knife that is a weapon for possible use as a weapon or to deter an aggressor constitutes unlawful intent. Accordingly, a defensive use contingency for carrying a knife is unlawful.
Relevant Statutes:
4-101. Dangerous weapons
4-102. Deadly weapons on school property
4-105. Transfer of switchblade or shooting knife
Statewide Preemption:
None.
Restrictions on Sale or Transfer:
Neither automatic knives nor ballistic knives may be sold or bartered.
Concealed Carry:
All knives – except manual folding knives – may not be lawfully carried in a concealed manner.
Restrictions on Carry in Specific Locations / Circumstances:
It is unlawful to possess any weapon, including knives, on school property. This restriction does not apply to “butter” knives or “knife-shaped” objects but does apply to folding knives.
- Minors – County Specific Restrictions
Within the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Cecil, Harford, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, Talbot, Washington, and Worcester, a minor may not carry a dangerous weapon – either openly or concealed – between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. There are exceptions for a minor who is:
- on a bona fide hunting trip; or
- engaged in or on the way to or returning from a bona fide trap shoot, sport shooting event, or any organized civic or military activity.
A minor in the designated counties may carry a manual folding knife without regard to sunlight.
- Maryland CCW Licensees
Individuals who hold a Maryland CCW license may also conceal carry an automatic knife or other “weapon” restricted by 4-101. Maryland is a “may issue” state where CCW licenses are elusive. The state is not a party to any reciprocity agreements.
- Concealment
The opinion in the case of Smith v State, 308 A.2d 442 (1973) provides the test for concealment: A weapon is “concealed” within statute prohibiting wearing or carrying a concealed weapon if it is so situated as not to be discernible by ordinary observation by those who would be near enough to see it if it were not concealed and who would come into contact with possessor in usual associations of life, but absolute invisibility is not required”. Concealment is an issue of fact to be determined by a jury and will be dependent on the circumstances presented. It cannot be definitively stated whether “pocket clip” carry would be considered concealed. One should take note of the warning that “absolute invisibility is not required”.
A dangerous weapon in an automobile that is within reach of, or in such proximity to, the operator or occupant as to make it available for his immediate use it is “concealed upon or about his person” Shipley v. State, 220 A.2d 585 (1966).
- Automatic Knives
Maryland joined the rush to restrict “switchblades” in 1957 by prohibiting the concealed carry of such knives. Two Maryland statutes mention automatic knives and refer to such items as a “switchblade knife”. 4-101, as pertinent provides:
(5)(i) “Weapon” includes a dirk knife, bowie knife, switchblade knife, star knife, sandclub, metal knuckles, razor, and nunchaku.
(ii) “Weapon” does not include:
. . .
a penknife without a switchblade.
The case of Bacon v. State of Maryland, 586 A2d 18 (1991) concerned a folding knife with a locking blade manufactured by Buck Knives Inc. The Court observed that “[p]enknives today are commonly considered to encompass any knife with the blade folding into the handle, some very large”. The Court also stated that the lockable blade was a “protective feature” and did not “cause the knife to be other than a penknife”.
Thus, a “switchblade knife” is a “weapon,” and a “penknife” or any manual folding knife is not.
The statutory description of “switchblade,” which is part of the transfer restriction, suggests by use of the words – “opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device” – that “gravity” knives are not included in the restricted category. 4-105. provides:
A person may not sell, barter, display, or offer to sell or barter:
(1) a knife or a penknife having a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife, commonly called a switchblade knife or a switchblade penknife; or
(2) a device that is designed to propel a knife from a metal sheath by means of a high-compression ejector spring, commonly called a shooting knife.
Maryland state law, 4-101, restricts the concealed carry of “weapons” and the open carry of weapons with intent to cause harm. Automatic knives may be carried openly. Local/municipal ordinances should be verified. A City of Baltimore ordinance, for instance, restricts automatic knives.
- Law Enforcement and Military
Law enforcement officers and “railroad special agents” are exempt from the 4-101 restrictions. A similar exemption exists for active and retired law enforcement officers under 4-102 pertaining to schools.
- Consequences
Violations of 4-101 or 4-102 are punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years and/or a fine not exceeding $1,000. A violation of 4-105. Transfer of switchblade or shooting knife is punishable by imprisonment not exceeding 12 months and/or a fine of at least $50 but not more than $500.
