"Jim Yanik" <
jya...@abuse.gov> wrote in message
> > Robert Green wrote the following:
> >> Which is a more useful tool all around? An electric angle grinder or
> >> a 4' long bolt cutter?
>
> Easy answer;
> the angle grinder can be used for all sorts of things(with the right sort
> of wheels),the bolt cutter is of very limited use.
> I've even seen a biscuit joiner adapter for an angle grinder. Woodworkers
> carve wood sculptures with them.
Sounds like a plan. I've been using a battery powered Dremel for a lot of
stuff I probably should have been using an angle grinder for . . .
<stuff snipped>
> if you have your bolt cutter in your car,or on your person and lack a
> legitimate reason for it being there,then it's a "burglar tool"(especially
> if you are on someone else's property),but if it's in/around your own
> home,it's not. Common sense.
I tend to agree with Steve B. on this one. It's probably not illegal pe se
(still haven't asked a real authority in my own jurisdiction, the final
arbiter of stuff like this) but it *could* end up badly in a couple of
scenarios. One is that for some reason I get stopped after a burglarly
where a bolt cutter was used. When the Beltway Sniper was erroneously
reported as driving a white van in the DC area a few years back, a very
large number of white vans were stopped and searched. I'm betting more than
a few of those drivers got busted for having *something* they shouldn't
have. One poor guy even had a legal rifle that happened to match the
caliber of the one the sniper was using - boy did HE have a bad, bad day.
You can always end up in the criminal justice system by accident. (FWIW,
the sniper was driving big, old car (Impala?) with a hole drilled through
the rear of the car to shoot from. His smallish teenage accomplice in the
trunk did most of the shooting. IIRC.)
The other scenario is if the cop is pissed off and looking to get off patrol
and back to the station for some reason. (-:
http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=42961
says:
<<Current law bans the possession of burglar tools such as "slim jims,"
shaved keys and bolt cutters, if law enforcement can establish the intent to
use these items to break-in and/or steal a car. Previously, police officers
and deputies could not arrest a suspect carrying those devices to steal a
motorcycle because it was not against the law. However, all that changes on
January 1st, 2011, thanks to the introduction of California Penal Code
Section 466.65. The new law creates a parallel offense which makes it a
misdemeanor to possess specified tools with the intent to unlawfully take or
drive a motorcycle. Violators face up to six months in jail and fines up to
$1,000.>>]
While it seems to agree with the general opinion that there needs to be a
"crime" associated with the possession, as Steve B. pointed out, you could
still have to prove that to the court - after you've been arrested, booked,
your car impounded, etc. Not worth the risk to keep them in the car trunk -
although I am not sure I would want to, anyway.
It's all moot because I'm going with the angle grinder. The obvious
sentiment here (I think it was DD_BobK who said he's used his twice in five
years) is that the bolt cutters are far less useful, all around, than angle
grinders. So it really doesn't matter if they're illegal in any of the
jurisdictions I pass through. One reason I am worried is that in DC, at
least before the Heller suit, someone with a license for a handgun in VA and
MD could NOT pass through DC without risking arrest. I had a carry permit
in both states and could never cut across the District because they did not
honor the permits of other states.
--
Bobby G.