More On Federal Pocket Knife Ban

Got this from another blog as I was reserching the potential ban on POCKET KNIVES. I felt it was important to pass it on here. We all need to keep an eye on whats going on here. Please read the article below.

I reported on this proposal by DHS last week. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Guns are one argument, but knives?

Don't laugh. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (Customs), overseen by the friendly folks at the Department of Homeland Security, has proposed regulation redefining millions of common pocket knives as illegal "switchblades."

This sudden and radical proposal has alarmed such respected groups as the National Rifle Association, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, and the American Knife and Tool Institute. In response, dozens of members of Congress have asked Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano to withdraw the proposed rules change.

The federal Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. Section 1241) clearly defines a "switchblade" as... "any knife having a blade which opens automatically (1) by hand pressure applied to a button or other device in the handle of the knife, or (2) by operation of inertia, gravity, or both." Technically, a Stanley knife (boxcutter) qualifies because it opens with a button.

However, the proposed Customs reclassification redefines "switchblade" to cover all knives using a spring to open -- which includes common Boy Scout knives, multi-tool knives, assisted opener knives, and other ordinary knives which can be opened with one hand.

According to the American Knife and Tool Institute, a trade organization, there are over 35 million Americans who carry and use some type of knife which opens with one hand. They are used in countless businesses, and by anglers, gardeners, hunters and others for recreational purposes. In the United States, assisted-opening and one-hand-opening knives are 80 percent of all knives sold.

"This classification could render millions of law-abiding knife owners in violation of the law and expose major market retailers, manufacturers, dealers and importers subject to possible federal felony charges, and could drive domestic manufacturers and importers out of business, potentially costing thousands of jobs," Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus said.

C.J. Buck, president and CEO of Buck Knives, said that "the language Customs used to cast the net wide enough to capture these assisted-opening knives could be used to capture just about every folding knife made in the country. ... Almost any folding [knives], you can open them part way and then flick them open."

"These knives are used not only by sportsmen, but also by police, firemen, skilled trade workers and others," notes the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation President Jeff Crane. "The Office of Customs and Border Patrol proposed revocation does not identify any specific intrinsic health and public safety concerns which it is purportedly trying to protect by this new designation."

Knife Rights is a grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to defending Americans' right to own, carry and use knives, has been created to oppose similar attacks on knives in America.

Knife Rights notes that in England and Australia, many knives commonly used in America have recently been made illegal.

Who says it can't happen here? And what's next -- nail clippers? Bottle openers?




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