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U.S. Government Is After Your Pocket Knives, Second Amendment Group Warns
Friday, June 12, 2009
By Susan Jones, Senior Editor
(CNSNews.com) Second Amendment supporters are warning Americans about what they call an unwarranted knife grab by Customs agents.
On May 21, the Customs and Border Protection Agency proposed revoking earlier rulings that said assisted-opening knives including pocket knives are not switchblades.
The proposed new rule would expand the definition of switchblade to include knives that are opened with one hand as well as old-fashioned slip-joint knives, even the type of folding knives that Boy Scouts typically carry.
Under the proposed rule, most knives would be prohibited from entering the United States, critics warn.
The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) are joining forces with a group called Knife Rights to support Americans' right to own and carry the knives of their choice."
The Second Amendment doesn't say Firearms, it says Arms, and knives are clearly covered, said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
CCRKBA says one-hand-opening and assisted-opening knives represent the majority of most knife-makers product lines. These are the knives Americans take with them to work and to play everyday, CCRKBA said in a news release.
The group says Customs new interpretation of the Federal Switchblade Act will affect virtually everyone who carries a pocket knife, no matter what type.
CBP came up with this absurd proposal and then tried slipping it into their regular notices, apparently hoping nobody would become aware of until too late. They provided for only the minimum 30-day comment period, and there's no email comments allowed, CCRKBA said.
The CBP's "Proposed Revocation Of Ruling Letters And Revocation Of Treatment Relating To The Admissibilty (sic) Of Certain Knives With Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms" could make it illegal for the estimated 40 million law-abiding Americans who own and carry pocket knives to do so, CCRKBA said, not to mention the jobs lost.
The definition of a switchblade is found in the 1958 Federal Switchblade Act and has been reaffirmed by many years of legal decisions, CCRKBA said. The Act is very clear that a switchblade must have an activating button on the handle. Without a button, it is not a switchblade and this has been upheld by numerous cases on many levels over the years.
Second Amendment supporters accuse Customs of using convoluted reasoning to reach back beyond the 1958 law to expand their regulatory purview.
Knife Rights is leading a grassroots effort to stop Customs' pocket knife grab. The group has posted model letters on its Web site for concerned citizens to send to Congress.
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</TD><TD>Link to Source
U.S. Government Is After Your Pocket Knives, Second Amendment Group Warns
Friday, June 12, 2009
By Susan Jones, Senior Editor
(CNSNews.com) Second Amendment supporters are warning Americans about what they call an unwarranted knife grab by Customs agents.
On May 21, the Customs and Border Protection Agency proposed revoking earlier rulings that said assisted-opening knives including pocket knives are not switchblades.
The proposed new rule would expand the definition of switchblade to include knives that are opened with one hand as well as old-fashioned slip-joint knives, even the type of folding knives that Boy Scouts typically carry.
Under the proposed rule, most knives would be prohibited from entering the United States, critics warn.
The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) are joining forces with a group called Knife Rights to support Americans' right to own and carry the knives of their choice."
The Second Amendment doesn't say Firearms, it says Arms, and knives are clearly covered, said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
CCRKBA says one-hand-opening and assisted-opening knives represent the majority of most knife-makers product lines. These are the knives Americans take with them to work and to play everyday, CCRKBA said in a news release.
The group says Customs new interpretation of the Federal Switchblade Act will affect virtually everyone who carries a pocket knife, no matter what type.
CBP came up with this absurd proposal and then tried slipping it into their regular notices, apparently hoping nobody would become aware of until too late. They provided for only the minimum 30-day comment period, and there's no email comments allowed, CCRKBA said.
The CBP's "Proposed Revocation Of Ruling Letters And Revocation Of Treatment Relating To The Admissibilty (sic) Of Certain Knives With Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms" could make it illegal for the estimated 40 million law-abiding Americans who own and carry pocket knives to do so, CCRKBA said, not to mention the jobs lost.
The definition of a switchblade is found in the 1958 Federal Switchblade Act and has been reaffirmed by many years of legal decisions, CCRKBA said. The Act is very clear that a switchblade must have an activating button on the handle. Without a button, it is not a switchblade and this has been upheld by numerous cases on many levels over the years.
Second Amendment supporters accuse Customs of using convoluted reasoning to reach back beyond the 1958 law to expand their regulatory purview.
Knife Rights is leading a grassroots effort to stop Customs' pocket knife grab. The group has posted model letters on its Web site for concerned citizens to send to Congress.
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