Knife Owners’ Protection Act Introduced in U.S. Senate

Protects Travelers From a Patchwork of Conflicting State Knife Laws.

Knife Owners Protection Act
Knife Owners Protection Act
KnifeRights.org
KnifeRights.org

Gilbert, AZ –-(Ammoland.com)- Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) have introduced a complimentary Senate version of Knife Rights’ Knife Owners’ Protection Act, S.1955 (KOPA), This follows the introduction of Knife Rights’ KOPA bill in the House last November.

The Senate bill is based on the House bill as conceived and developed by Knife Rights, although it is formatted according to Senate rules. Knife Rights worked diligently with the Senate sponsors to ensure the Senate bill was fully aligned with the original House KOPA bill.

Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter explained, “having KOPA bills in both houses of Congress was a key Knife Rights strategy from the start, increasing the chances for legislative success. Accomplishing this without substantive differences between the two bills further enhances the likelihood that the law eventually enacted will accomplish fully our goal of protecting America’s knife owners.”

The text of S.1955 should become available online next week.

The result of three years of effort, Knife Rights conceived, drafted and developed the Knife Owners’ Protection Act as the first proactive pro-knife federal legislation introduced in the nation’s history.

Ritter concluded, “This legislation will solve a real and growing problem that faces every knife owner traveling throughout America–the threat of arrest and prosecution under misguided local laws merely for possessing knives during lawful travel.”

KOPA will protect law-abiding knife owners traveling throughout the U.S. from a patchwork of restrictive state and local laws. As long as possession of the particular knife is legal where the journey starts and ends, and provided the knife is secured in accordance with KOPA, a knife owner would no longer be threatened with arrest simply for traveling from one place to another.

TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Call or Write TodayGetting these bills introduced is only the first step. We need your help to gain additional co-sponsors. If your Senator is not already a co-sponsor, PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL YOUR SENATOR TODAY and urge them to co-sponsor this commonsense legislation. You can find your Senator at: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Or, you can use the Open Congress website at: https://www.opencongress.org/bill/hr3478-113

Here’s a model email that you can use. We strongly suggest you keep it simple and to the point:

I support S.1955, the Knife Owners’ Protection Act. I urge you to become a co-sponsor of this commonsense legislation that will protect my rights and the rights of all knife owners to travel throughout the U.S. without fear of prosecution under the myriad of state and local knife laws.

Knife Rights continues to lead the way with aggressive proactive legislative action to defend and protect knife owners’ rights. KOPA is just another example of our groundbreaking efforts to create a Sharper Future for all Americans.

A FAQ on KOPA with additional details and background can be found at: https://bit.ly/1arZIa0

Indiana Knife Law Preemption Bill Introduced
Indiana state Senators Johnny Nugent and Jim Tomes have introduced a Knife Law Preemption bill, SB 301. This follows up on the Senators’ success last year repealing the state’s ban on automatic (switchblade) knives. SB 301 would make state knife law supreme over the entire state, repealing existing local knife regulations and prohibiting any future knife regulations. This is the sixth Knife Rights backed bill in 2014!

If you live, work or travel in Indiana, please contact your state Senator and ask them to please support SB 301. You can find your Indiana state Senator here: https://district.iga.in.gov/DistrictLookup/

Knife Law Preemption is Knife Rights’ signature legislative initiative and is the essential foundation for improving knife laws and protecting knife owners. Beginning with the nation’s first Knife Law Preemption bill passed in 2010 in Arizona, Knife Rights has passed Knife Law Preemption in seven states to date. Knife Law Preemption prevents a patchwork of local ordinances which can entrap honest citizens traveling within or through a state.

This is the fifth Knife Rights’ Knife Law Preemption bill filed so far for next year.

Kansas Attorney General Ruling
Last year Knife Rights was successful in passing a comprehensive knife law reform act, HB2033, into law in Kansas that both repealed all restrictions on knives in state law and included Knife Law Preemption. On January 10, 2014, the Kansas Attorney General issued a written opinion that HB3033 did not repeal local ordinances enacted BEFORE July 1, 2013. If allowed to stand, that would mean that these previously enacted ordinances more restrictive than state law would remain in force. While Knife Rights disagrees with this opinion and we believe the legislature clearly intended to void all prior local ordinances (as has been the case in all six prior Knife Rights’ knife law preemption bills that we have passed), Knife Rights is already working on a legislative clarification to effectively “overrule” the opinion.

While there are relatively few local ordinances in Kansas enacted before July 1, 2013, knife owners should be cautious to avoid violations until the legislature passes a clarification (for example, Kansas City has an ordinance prohibiting the carrying of a concealed knife “readily capable of lethal use,” a ridiculously vague definition subject to abuse).

About:
Knife Rights (www.KnifeRights.org) is America’s Grassroots Knife Owners Organization, working towards a Sharper Future for all knife owners. Knife Rights is dedicated to providing knife owners an effective voice in public policy. Become a Knife Rights member and make a contribution to support the fight for your knife rights. Visit www.kniferights.org

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John

Maybe they can introduce a similar bill for gun owners?