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I live in Bulgaria and would like to know my rights and restrictions on carrying pens, knifes, axes. Ideally, I want to print the concerning law and carry it with me.

I have heard that there is no law prohibiting cold weapon carry. If this is so, how could I prove this (to e.g. police officer, not in court)?

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Ask your local law enforcement. Laws in the US vary by state, for example last I knew in California it was illegal to have certain weapons unless you were specifically on your way to/from a class, while in Arizona the same weapon is legal at any time. – JohnP Oct 18 '12 at 14:28
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I think this is an interesting question, but not a good MA:SE exchange question - the answer is (a) intrinsically local, since the answers apply only to one country and (b) the skills/techniques involved are legal research, not martial arts. – Mark C. Wallace Oct 18 '12 at 15:47
@MarkC.Wallace: It would be quiet easy to change the question so that it is clearly relevant to MA.se and not localised. Perhaps $admin could edit it? – Sardathrion Oct 19 '12 at 13:51
@Sardathrion, I'm skeptical that it can be de-localized. How would you do it? – Mark C. Wallace Oct 19 '12 at 14:07
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Discussion around topicality/localization/closing belongs on the meta. – David H. Clements♦ Oct 19 '12 at 16:41
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2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV.

Your local association should have a clear understanding of the issue. However, they can live in fantasy land so... Your best bet is the local branch of your law enforcement agency. You can ask them and they should be able to tell you. After all, they should know. Failing that, a trip to a criminal lawyer may get you a much better answer as well as how to deal with the law in your location. Note that the latter may charge you either answering or/and researching the answer.

If you are ever stopped and questioned about carrying a weapon (which I will assume is to/from your martial art club and not as a thug) then I suggest you be honest, polite, and informative. If you are arrested stop talking and get a lawyer as soon as possible.

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up vote 3 down vote

This is a tricky grey area.

In general I agree with @Sard. But I also feel compelled to mention this:
You are probably more accurate saying that "cold-carry" is not illegal, that in itself doesn't make it legal. And carrying a piece of paper with the law printed on it is not necessarily going to impress a law enforcement officer - if they cannot book you on carrying a weapon they may just find something else instead.

You may also find that carrying a weapon isn't illegal*, but using that weapon is. Remember that in general being a martial artist doesn't infer special rights on your or make you any different to a normal member of the public. If you carry a weapon you are far more likely to get into a situation that you should have avoided.

So, do you really need to "cold-carry" that weapon? Or does it just make you feel better?

*For example it may be illegal unless you have a legal purpose for carrying it, i.e. you are transporting the weapon to martial arts training.
In this country I can go and train in the local park with a live katana, but if a police officer found me just carrying one in my car for no real reason then he has grounds to book me ("self defense" is not an adequate reason).

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