Boston Bylaw to Make Knives Less Available to Youths

Small, inexpensive knives may become less easily available in Boston following ’s approval of a proposed City bylaw on Wednesday.

The law creates a licensing process for small retailers who wish to sell knives longer than two inches with fixed or locking blades, which District 8 Councilor Michael Ross said, have become an impulse purchase in some corner stores.

Ross, the bylaw’s co-sponsor, said that the license would be inexpensive and easy to obtain through City Hall so long as the store had not been cited for selling a knife to a person younger than 18 within the past year.

“My sense is that many of the stores won’t bother,” Ross said. “They’ll realize that their business model is actually to sell knives to minors.”

The proposed bylaw exempts hardware stores, department stores and stores which sell cutlery.

The council voted unanimously in favor of the measure, which still requires the Mayor Menino’s signature to become law.

Other Council News:

• The council accepted $15 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland security for the purpose of better protecting Boston’s ports.
• The council voted in favor of a measure that would require any money paid to the city clerk for the purpose of performing a marriage during his/her work hours to be turned over to the city’s general fund. The clerk would still be allowed to profit from marriages performed outside of work hours.
• The council voted unanimously in favor of a proposal that would make Boston’s Fenway neighborhood the first cultural district in the city and, according to the council, one of the first in the state.
• The council voted in favor of accepting up to $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the purpose of reimbursing the cost of damages caused by Hurricane Irene. Councilor Michael Ross said he expected the city’s actual reimbursement figure to come in closer to the $300,000.