Statue of Liberty tourists well-armed

[Renew Deal]

Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses - just tell them to leave their switchblades, their blackjacks and their brass knuckles at home.

The Statue of Liberty is attracting an assortment of well-armed tourists, with security officers seizing thousands of weapons from visitors headed into New York Harbor.
<snip>

An inventory showed officers recovered 28 illegal weapons - everything from brass knuckles to collapsible batons to blackjacks.

They also seized nearly 5,300 knives; more than 5,000 other "miscellaneous weapons," including screwdrivers and other tools, and nearly 7,000 cans of pepper spray.
<snip>

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/10/17/2011-10-17_no_way_to_visit_lady_airporttype_screening_finds_liberty_tourists_armed_to_hilt.html

[sakabatou]

1. What I want to know is "why?"

[benEzra]

12. Why would someone living in NYC possess a pepper spray, a small pocketknife, or a screwdriver?

The same reason anyone else would possess a pepper spray, a small pocketknife, or a screwdriver.

The article is sensationalizing. Only 28 "illegal weapons" were found out of nearly twenty thousand items seized. And in NYC, a whole lot of things are "illegal weapons" that are common and legal almost everywhere else in the country.

I suspect that a lot of people don't realize that most of the confiscated items were prohibited at the park. A woman with a pepper spray on her keychain might not think that a sign reading "Dangerous Weapons Prohibited" means something as innocuous as a pepper spray, for example (I once lost a small pepper spray to that particular semantic trap myself).

[TheWraith]

13. Yep. Here in NY, any pocket knife over 3" is illegal, for one.

If you happen to have one that they decide is 3.1 inches... illegal. If you have one that's got spring-assisted opening... illegal. Pepper spray... illegal. For that matter, even the lowest powered stun-guns are illegal here in NY. A friend of mine from Florida who goes to college here was surprised to hear that--she owns one and brought it with her.

[Renew Deal]

16. I have a Leatherman. Is that illegal?

I rarely take it out of the house, but I've always wondered.

[DonP]

19. They confiscated three of my 2 inch swiss army knives at TSA so far

I usually carry the tiny ones with two small blades and tweezers. They cost about $14 or so. TSA has three of them that I forgot I had in my pocket.

My Leatherman has a much larger blade on it (maybe 4 to 5 inches or so) so I'm guessing you'd lose it anywhere they screen for those things. Replacing those can get expen$ive really quick.

[Renew Deal]

20. I would never bring it to an airport or a sports event

So that's not an issue for me. I just don't want an issue if I get pulled over with it. I guess I have to measure it.

[DonP]

23. I put my Leatherman when I go fishing, hiking or for a bike ride on a trail.

I just forget its there for the most part, unless I need it to tighten something or open a bottle etc..

But I'm in Illinois, outside of "Crook county" so there aren't any major blade restrictions to worry about.

Thy don't make my model anymore so I'd hate to lose it after all these years.

[Drale]

2. This country is crazy

I always carry around a pocket knife with me but not for defense, but because you never know when you'll need a knife.

[Renew Deal]

3. Nice Post Freddy!

[Drale]

4. You never know when you'll need to perform emergency surgery or

terrorize children in their dreams.:rofl:

[Renew Deal]

7. lol

:rofl:

[hack89]

26. You are right - only two guns. Not a problem. nt

[w0nderer]

8. blade and flame

i grew up with that 'anything outside the house door' you carry blade and flame (a cutting implement and a way of generating fire)

pocket knife and matches in water proof container

[spin]

22. Knives are damn convenient to have with you ...

I've carried a knife all my life and found it to be a useful tool both at work and at home. Before I retired I carried a Benchmade 710 folder with a 3.9" blade.

Now that I have retired I carry a fully serrated Spyderco Endura folder for tough tasks such a cutting wire and a fixed blade plain edged knife for lighter tasks and food prep.

It's impossible to explain to a person who has never carried a knife how many times a day you will use one and how much time you will save.

I don't carry knives as a self defense weapon either.

[Lint Head]

5. I nice belt buckle makes a great arm to bear.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. How stupid.............

[hack89]

9. No mention of guns - looks like a knife issue. nt

[Renew Deal]

15. lol

It mentions guns further down. :hide:

[Remmah2]

10. "screwdrivers"?

Gotta love our post 9/11 world.

[krispos42]

11. Doubtless...

...they don't have the courtesy to offer to hold them for the duration of the visit, either. Just like every other fucking overly-paranoid place.


I can go to a Minnesota Twins game with only a courtesy glance in my bag (by Minneapolis cops, no less) to make sure I'm not carrying glass, but I can't go see a Sound Tigers game (minor-league ice hockey) with a Swiss army knife because of a rent-a-cop with a metal-detecting wand.



Yet another reason why I continue to see the attraction of going to see live events. Tickets prices are ridiculous, concessions are outrageous, parking costs even more money, and to top it off some minor functionary gets to search me for the privilege of attending. A swiss army knife! Go run back to the parking garage because you're untrustworthy! Lock it in your car, THEN come back to me and maybe I'll let you in.

:eyes:

[Euromutt]

17. I had a similar experience at Disneyland

While I was undergoing the cursory inspection of my backpack, one of the security guys with the straw hat, white shirt and blue pants spots the Leatherman Wave on my belt and tells me I'm going to have to go back to my hotel (one shuttle every half hour, and it's just left) and leave it there, or he's going to have to confiscate it whereupon it will be destroyed (or appropriated by one of the staff, I have little doubt). Seeing as how this was the first Christmas present my wife ever gave me, and thus has major sentimental value, I decided not to risk it, but the stupid thing was this was my third day there. I'd already been walking around with it for two days and had somehow managed to resist the urge to sabotage Space Mountain or unscrew Walt from his plinth, and what's more, if I'd been wearing an untucked shirt, nobody would ever have spotted it.

Talk about security theater.

[friendly_iconoclast]

27. +1. Security theater, indeed.

[slackmaster]

14. Unrec for lack of relevance to the forum topic

:hi:

[Glassunion]

18. Ah... Good old NYC

Where everything is illegal. In order for you to legally do something there has to be an exception in the law.

"Sometimes they come from different states where these weapons would be legal, and because they are tourists, we understand that and we try to be very reasonable in enforcement," Sgt. Culver said.

"I have talked to people and I asked, 'Why do you have it?' and they say 'For my protection.' For the most part, they have no intention of using it to commit a crime. It is just something they have on them - they are used to carrying," Culver said.

[We_Have_A_Problem]

21. What amazes me is...

...that people would even ask the question of "why do you have it" in relationship to a pocket knife....

Why would I have it? Gee - i dunno - possibly because I've carried one every day since I was about 9?

[Glassunion]

24. Then you should need permission from the state to be allowed to carry it.

You are free to do what your government tells you.

[SteveM]

25. But...but, isn't the pro-2A crowd the ones who are paranoid? What I heard...

:silly: :crazy: :silly: :spray: :rofl: :beer: :smoke: