picking locks

[Eric Smith]

Chris wrote:
> Last I knew, lock pick sets were illegal to own in NJ unless you are
> someone that has a "legal" use for one. Of course, since legal use isn't
> really defined, it leaves it pretty wide open.

I own more than one hundred locks, and sometimes I can't find the key to
open one.  In some cases, I purchase equipment with locks but no keys.
So I think I have an entirely legitimate use for lock picks.  Whether a
court would agree is an open question.

> (It is also illegal to have a police scanner in your car,

Contradicted by the Communications Act of 1934, which being Federal
law should override it.

> as well as carry a center punch...

Now I'm baffled.  I can see reasons for banning lock picks and police
scanners, even though I vehemently disagree with those reasons.  But
why on earth should center punches be illegal?  I don't carry one
routinely, but if I'm going somewhere that I expect to need one,
I carry it.

For that matter, I routinely have a bolt cutter in my car, and I suppose
an overzealous police officer might try to contrue that as a burglar
tool, but I can cite multiple occasions when I've had a legitimate use
for it.

Eric