Much of the furor around the country these past few years has been over gun control, after horrific shootings in Aurora, CO, and Newtown, CT. But while the federal government and states like New York focus solely on making it more difficult to purchase guns, pro-knife laws and regulations have been silently passing in states around the country.
With guns firmly in the crosshairs of politicians, many knife enthusiasts have been pushing pro-knife legislation to get rid of antiquated knife laws and protect knife carriers from inconsistent regulations. The organization behind this push for a better knife legislation that protects knife owners is Knife Rights.
Run by founder and chairman Doug Ritter, Knife Rights has helped get bills signed in New Hampshire and Missouri that legalizes switchblades and other banned knives. They were also huge supporters of the announcement this week that the TSA will once again allow small pocketknives onto planes. This isn’t only a win for knife enthusiasts, but it’s also important for companies like Victorinox and Leatherman that sell multi-tools and Swiss Army knives. The ban on knives after 9/11 resulted in the bankruptcy of iconic Swiss Army maker Wenger and really affected the knife industry.Whereas restrictions on guns have become much larger, restrictions on knives have actually loosened. Two bills sitting in the state legislatures of Tennessee and Kansas will both repeal state bans on switchblades and enact knife law preemption. What preemption means is that all the localities and officers throughout the state have to conform to the state regulations on knife laws. So localities that have banned switchblades or have vague definitions of illegal knives will need to follow state law. This protects knife carriers from being targeted at the whims of police or localities with different understandings and regulations of knife laws.
But while Knife Rights and knife enthusiasts have made significant gains over the years, they may be heading down the wrong path. One criticism of Knife Rights is that they are trying to galvanize the base by saying “Gun Bans Now, Knife Bans Next.” This is a slippery slope argument that does not hold much merit and only sounds alarmist. By aligning themselves with the gun rights activists, it could shed some unnecessary light on the issues of knives, which has been gaining ground.
Instead, knife supporters should continue pushing legislation that repeals bans on knives and enables knife law preemption, like the ones currently in Alaska and Indiana. This is the best way to ensure everyone has access to useful, everyday tools.
This article was originally posted by Jack Thompson
With guns firmly in the crosshairs of politicians, many knife enthusiasts have been pushing pro-knife legislation to get rid of antiquated knife laws and protect knife carriers from inconsistent regulations. The organization behind this push for a better knife legislation that protects knife owners is Knife Rights.
Run by founder and chairman Doug Ritter, Knife Rights has helped get bills signed in New Hampshire and Missouri that legalizes switchblades and other banned knives. They were also huge supporters of the announcement this week that the TSA will once again allow small pocketknives onto planes. This isn’t only a win for knife enthusiasts, but it’s also important for companies like Victorinox and Leatherman that sell multi-tools and Swiss Army knives. The ban on knives after 9/11 resulted in the bankruptcy of iconic Swiss Army maker Wenger and really affected the knife industry.Whereas restrictions on guns have become much larger, restrictions on knives have actually loosened. Two bills sitting in the state legislatures of Tennessee and Kansas will both repeal state bans on switchblades and enact knife law preemption. What preemption means is that all the localities and officers throughout the state have to conform to the state regulations on knife laws. So localities that have banned switchblades or have vague definitions of illegal knives will need to follow state law. This protects knife carriers from being targeted at the whims of police or localities with different understandings and regulations of knife laws.
But while Knife Rights and knife enthusiasts have made significant gains over the years, they may be heading down the wrong path. One criticism of Knife Rights is that they are trying to galvanize the base by saying “Gun Bans Now, Knife Bans Next.” This is a slippery slope argument that does not hold much merit and only sounds alarmist. By aligning themselves with the gun rights activists, it could shed some unnecessary light on the issues of knives, which has been gaining ground.
Instead, knife supporters should continue pushing legislation that repeals bans on knives and enables knife law preemption, like the ones currently in Alaska and Indiana. This is the best way to ensure everyone has access to useful, everyday tools.
This article was originally posted by Jack Thompson
