§134-52 Switchblade knives; prohibitions; penalty. (a) Whoever knowingly carries concealed on the person, or in a bag or other container carried by the person, any switchblade knife shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) Whoever knowingly possesses or intentionally uses or threatens to use a switchblade knife while engaged in the commission of a separate felony or misdemeanor shall be guilty of a class C felony; provided that a person shall not be prosecuted under this subsection when the separate felony or misdemeanor is an offense otherwise defined by this chapter. (c) A conviction and sentence under subsection (b) shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any conviction and sentence for the separate felony or misdemeanor; provided that the sentence imposed under subsection (b) may run concurrently or consecutively with the sentence for the separate felony or misdemeanor. (d) It shall be a defense to a prosecution under subsection (a) that the person was lawfully present in the person's own home at the time of the offense. (e) For the purposes of this section, "switchblade knife" means any knife having a blade that opens automatically by: (1) Hand pressure applied to a button or other device in the handle of the knife; or (2) Operation of inertia, gravity, or both. [L 1959, c 225, §1; Supp, §264-9; HRS §769-1; ren L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1990, c 195, §4; am L 2024, c 21, §5]
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