German law makes some knives illegal to carry

[unhappycamper]

German law makes some knives illegal to carry
By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, March 27, 2008

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Some knives and multitools on your belt could end up costing you more than $15,000 in fines, starting April 1 in Germany.

Changes to a German law, set to take effect Tuesday, would prohibit one-handed spring knives as well as knives with blades longer than 12 centimeters (roughly 4.7 inches) “carried in public and ready for use,” according to German media reports.

Violators could be fined up to 10,000 euros.

Full details on changes to the German weapons law have yet to be finalized.

The law aims to bring about a decrease in knife-related crimes and to make confiscation of knives carried by “risk groups” easier, according a Kaiserslautern police newsletter.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=53629