When is a jack-knife a weapon?

http://www.boston.com/news/education/2014/08/31/bundy-son-pulls-kids-from-schools-over-knife/FiuNDEkHRInXq6l5r5XvCN/story.html

Now, I have absolutely no sympathy or even use for the Bundy bunch and their twisted wing-nut philosophy. But I see the man's point here, When we were kids, nearly all boys (and a number of girls) carried pocket knives as standard equipment, pretty much the same way that mobile phones and texting devices are toted today. They were used to cut apples in half for sharing with a friend, for sharpening pencils when not near a classroom pencil sharpener, for cleaning one's fingernails or for a dozen other mundane uses. It was extremely rare that anyone would think of using such a prosaic everyday tool as a weapon.

That's all changed in recent years. I remember that it's not so very long ago that I was able to board a commercial flight, carrying a Swiss Army knife in my jacket pocket. No one raised an eyebrow. Just a couple of months ago I checked into a hospital. I had a pocket-knife in my possession; it's something I customarily and habitually carry. The nurses got all upset and insisted that I surrender this extremely dangerous artefact to my wife to take away. They didn't want that kind of blade on hospital premises. (Wonder how they feel about all the scalpels in the ORs?)

What's going on here? And what do you think of this super-safety trend?

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