Introduction: New Mexico Knife Laws
The state of New Mexico has a number of statutes concerning the carrying of knives and other weapons. In general, carrying knives and other weapons is legal in in New Mexico.
Under NMSA 1953 § 30-7-8, it is generally a petty misdemeanor for a person to carry a concealed dagger or knife that is longer than five inches or a concealed dirk. Law enforcement officers and military personnel on duty are excluded from this law.
§ 30-7-9 covers the carrying of a concealed pistol or dangerous knife. It is generally illegal in New Mexico to carry a concealed handgun or dangerous knife , or to have such a weapon in a vehicle. Military and law enforcement personnel on duty are excluded from this law.
Under § 30-7-11, carrying a deadly weapon with unlawful intent is a fourth degree felony. Under § 30-7-14, open carry of a deadly weapon is generally legal.
§ 30-7-15 prohibits schools and school properties from being used to exhibit or carry knives defined as dangerous. There are some exceptions made in this statute for school authorities and student organizations. § 30-7-16 also restricts the use of knives defined as dangerous or deadly on school grounds, with similar exceptions.
New Mexico Knife Definitions
There are in fact legal definitions for many common knife types according to New Mexico knife laws. The terms found in NMSA 30-1-12 are as follows:
"dirk or dagger" means a straight, bladed weapon that is held parallel to the hand, with or without a hand grip or hilt, readily capable of inflicting injury by a stabbing motion;
"switchblade knife" means a spring-loaded blade, which is opened by a buckling, pressing or otherwise energizing the handle, or by a thumb pressure applied solely to the blade or by another mechanical device by which, when in its closed position, the blade is held in place solely by the mechanical spring; and
"throwing star" means a star-shaped object having sharpened points projecting from a central disk or hub, with the hub being fitted with a handle.
Carry Restrictions under New Mexico Knife Laws
When we browse through knife sales websites, we would probably agree that many of them have magical knives with 8 inch blades made of Damascus steel while their handles are made of exotic wood, pearl or micarta. Under both federal and state law, including the New Mexico Knife Law, it is legal to own such knives of fantasizing quality. However, there exists a set of rules for carrying knives. In downstate New Mexico, most people, except for very few hunters, outdoor lovers, and veterans who carry knives without any fear, prefer to keep knives in their pockets. However, in upstate New Mexico, hunting, fishing, and hiking make up a large part of people’s lives. This article will discuss various restrictions on carrying knives.
Carrying a Knife Openly
In New Mexico, you can carry a knife openly without worrying about a New Mexico Knife Law violation if your knife blade does not exceed the length of 4 inches for a dirk or dagger, 6 inches for all other knives, or 8 inches for a dagger with a serrated edge or which folds. A dirk is a type of long-bladed dagger, typically containing a straight, double-edged blade and a single handle. New Mexico Pen. Code Section 30-1-8; 30-7-15(A). When a person carrying a knife is charged with a violation of New Mexico Pen. Code Section 30-1-8 or 30-7-15, the burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove that the defendant carried a knife openly. Driving around the corner with your knife hidden inside your wife’s purse may be sufficient to establish an open carrying of that knife. Yet, carrying a knife openly does not mean that you can carry a knife in a sheath in your belt similar to how a sword was carried by knights in the medieval times.
Carrying a Knife Concealed
It is illegal to carry a concealed dirk, dagger, sword, knife, stiletto, sword cane, straight razor, or any other fixed bladed or "throwing" instrument with a blade greater than two inches long on public school property, at a school related activity or on the premises of any public education institution. New Mexico Pen. Code Section 30-7-2.1A; N.M.S.A. Section 30-7-8. But few tourists realize that it is illegal to carry a concealed knife, even a small one, in privately owned hotel, inn or other lodgings. Any of these businesses has the right to expect that such items be concealed.
Other Restrictions
Airports in New Mexico have the right to enforce more restrictive knife carrying rules than the rest of the state. This is especially true with the Albuquerque Airport. Even butter knives at airport restaurants may be prohibited. Although it is lawful to carry a knife in a bar according to New Mexico law, most bars would expect that knives be concealed.
Knife Prohibited Areas
While New Mexico law allows for the possession of most knives in most places, there are certain locations in which possession is either prohibited or restricted. These locations include schools, certain government facilities, and more.
Schools – it is unlawful to carry knives concealed or exposed on school premises or school activities. Even having a pocket knife locked in your car’s glove compartment is sufficient to justify criminal charges. Carrying a knife in a school zone is not always illegal, but it is always risky. For example, if you are stopped by police with a legal knife in your vehicle, you may end up arrested for a school zone violation – unlawful carrying of a knife in a school zone – despite the fact that you are legally permitted to carry a knife in your vehicle in New Mexico.
Public Schools – student’s knives may be allowed on campus (ask your school), but teacher’s knives (or those of employees of the school) are illegal. That means teachers may not have pocket knives, box cutters, etc. If you are a school employee do not carry a knife on campus without prior permission.
Government Facilities – you cannot have knives of any kind in any New Mexico government building including state courthouses, city or county clerk offices, city or county offices, state or local offices of any office or agency of government. The chance of being accused of criminal chains is extremely high even if you are carrying a legal knife. As with school zones, you could be stopped in a public area with a legal knife only to later be charged with a knife weapons violation.
City Parks – each city and county is authorized to ban knives in parks, including hunting knives. Generally municipalities make the most restrictive laws possible when they get the chance to regulate an area. Most public parks in New Mexico ban knives without exception. A common law prohibition means you can’t even carry a small pocket knife. You can be charged with a knife weapon charge even if the prohibition in that park is unwritten or unknown to you at the time of the offense.
Other government buildings and facilities – various other buildings and facilities are off limits to knives including some fine art museums and public libraries.
The Schools, government facilities and parks are not the only places where knives are regulated or prohibited.
Knife Violation Penalties
To elaborate more on the specific penalties for illegal knives, we can use the laws for switchblades as a guide. In the following statutes, the first one states that possessing switchblades – or anything resembling them – is illegal within New Mexico. The second statute then details exactly what the legal consequences are if you do get caught possessing specified switchblades:
30-22-5. Unlawful carrying of switchblade knife in a public place; penalty. C. Anyone who carries a switchblade knife in a public place as set forth in Subsection A of this section is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
30-22-6. Sale of switchblade knives; penalty. B. Anyone who sells or offers to sell any switchblade knife within the state is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
30-7-14. Illegal possession of a switchblade knife. Anyone who knowingly possesses a switchblade knife as defined in Sections 30-7-12 through 30-7-16 NMSA 1978 is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
Just based on the three laws above , violating New Mexico Knife laws can lead to serious consequences. Unless you do not mind facing up to six months jail time, you should not carry or sell switchblades or similar knives – or anything else that would violate any other knife law – in New Mexico.
Self-Defense with a Knife
While the majority of knife owners in New Mexico are understandably focused on whether they will be able to legally carry their knives on a daily basis, what happens if they are ever forced to use their knives in self-defense? New Mexico law does have a self-defense statute so it is possible for you to legally use a knife in self-defense and even possible for you to carry your knife concealed for self-defense.
Self-defense is found in NMSA 1978, 30-2-7, the justifiable use of force statute. Under this statute, it is justifiable to use deadly force if you reasonably believe that it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against a threat of death or great bodily harm (for example: stabbing). The statute limits the circumstances under which a knife can be used in self-defense. Under the statute, you are prohibited from carrying a knife with the intent to use it for aggressive purposes.
If you have been charged with a crime for using your knife in self-defense, it is important to remember that the prosecutor must prove that you were not acting in self-defense. You can assert self-defense in two ways. In some cases, you may have a "stand your ground" defense (as we discussed in the carrying concealed section). In other cases, you will be able to rely on necessity. If you had a knife and reasonably believed that only by using it was you protecting yourself against death or great bodily harm, then the law says you can rely on necessity for your defense.
Recent Changes in New Mexico Knife Laws
In discussing knife laws, the first two questions are typically "What’s legal to carry?" and "How restricted am I by statute or local ordinance?" Too often, however, a fair answer to these questions amounts to little more than a "well, it depends." This is especially true in jurisdictions where any "offense" is a criminal matter and can be left to the policy decisions of the judge assigned to the case. In other words, just because a particular weapon is legally possessed does not automatically mean it is permissible for any purpose other than display or collection.
For example, most jurisdictions will treat a straight sword or scabbard as an offensive weapon subject to restriction regardless of whether there is an unintentional injury or admittedly authoritative provocation to the act. Indeed, in many states (such as my home in Texas), "reasonable" cause to draw the sword will be established through specific portrayal in a legislative example, such as the protection of a household or while evicting a trespasser from a non-standard residence. In New Mexico, there has been a relatively surprising shift in the interpretation and enforcement of NM’s definition of "dirk knives" (152-7-1 NMSA 1978, 2017 Amendment and 152-7-2 NMSA 1978) as it relates to "daggers" as well as "bowie knives." As explained in a previous post (Concealed Carry of Fixed Blade Knives), the traditional Flemish definition of a "knife" is one that is "specifically designed for stabbing and with a grip on its handle." It is here where there has been a recent change – one that should be observed and understood by visitors to the Land of Enchantment.
"Damned if you do, damned if you don’t": You may have suspected that thousands of concealed carriers have found that circumstance particularly frustrating, especially in a state where open carry requires no license and is legal on most private property. Yet the dichotomy of regulations has not been particularly obvious to the casual observer; just ask an orange ticketer…
New Mexico amended that definition to provide that a knife is a dirk knife when "primarily designed and manufactured… to be used as a weapon [and] has a cutting edge or edges and a pointed tip." It has also added the definition of "dirk-like knife" as a knife that is not commonly considered a dirk but that "has a cutting edge or edges and a pointed tip and that is 1.5 inches in length or more." Leave aside the technical note that the definition cannot be reconciled with another which treats a knife with both a straight and serrated edge as having only a straight edge. For present purposes, if applicable case law follows a "common understanding" interpretation, then shorter knives with a sharp point, such as stilettos, would no-longer be considered dirks under NM law. This should provide a measure of comfort to those who find themselves leaving the knife at the house during excursions into town, or to those who have neglected to adhere to the "wrist or belt buckle" requirement for dirk knives at festivals and parades.
Whether or not this change will impact the regrettable "Orange ticket" statistics is yet to be seen. Unfortunately, it appears that a category of short daggers is likely to be affected, as the state redefines ‘dirk knife’ in terms of "primarily designed and manufacturer to be used as a weapon." Nevertheless, it appears to provide a measure of protection for many of those who are unaware of the dangers they face when considering whether to carry or use an edged weapon such as Hutton ‘Fairbairn’ style dagger.
How Do New Mexico Knife Laws Compare to Those of Nearby States
In terms of knife laws, New Mexico is quite similar to many of its neighboring states, with both open and concealed carry generally permitted of larger knives, provided that the knife is not fixed blade. Carry of larger knives with a blade length of 3 inches or longer, including dirks and daggers, is openly permitted, unless they are made of metal knuckles or of brass or plastic. Concealed carry is also permissible except for fixed blade knives, dirks, and daggers, which are prohibited. If you are interested in more detail on these exceptions, Section 30-7-1 of the New Mexico criminal code contains all the relevant language .
However, any state bordering New Mexico except for Arizona has very strict laws when it comes to concealed carry. In Colorado, concealed blades are only allowed if they are 3 inches or shorter, but there is an exemption for religious uses of short blades, such as kirpans and other ceremonial knives. In Texas, blades of any type may not be carried concealed in most circumstances, except for swords which may be used for demonstrations, particularly reenactments. If you plan to attend a reenactment in Texas, it is advisable to search for relevant statutes or even to call ahead to the city you will be in, to determine if you need to make special arrangements for your sword as a participant in a reenactment.