KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- The President has signed into law the FY2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that includes a new exception to the Federal Switchblade Act protecting our assisted and one-hand opening pocket knives. You’ll find the text of the amendment and an explanation of how this solves the problem below.

Knife Rights is very pleased to acknowledge the efforts of the many dedicated knife owners and organizations who joined together to oppose U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s attempt to redefine what is a switchblade. It is worth noting that this represented the first ever collective campaign at a national level to enhance the rights of knife owners.

We not only responded effectively to the surprise attack on our knife rights, turning aside a blow that would have done a great disservice to all knife owners and could have crippled our domestic knife industry, we were able to turn it into a clear victory for all citizens of our great country. This change to the Federal Switchblade Act is the first affirmative Federal knife law ever! We hope it portends great things for the sharper future™ we are working towards at Knife Rights..

Knife Rights would especially like to thank our coalition partners who worked together to get us to this point: National Rifle Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and the knife industry’s American Knife and Tool Institute. I’d also like to specially acknowledge Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, whose major financial contribution helped to support our efforts.

I cannot possibly list all the many others, individuals and businesses alike, who donated money to the fight, in amounts from $10 to $5000, but I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of myself and knife owners everywhere. We could not have done it without your support.

The cost of this victory was substantial; mind boggling really. It’s really not a complete victory until we are done paying the bills. Please help us retire our debt for this fight with a generous contribution: http://bit.ly/Scvp9

To help you celebrate and commemorate this incredible victory, please purchase one of our collectible “WE STOPPED Customs Pocket Knife Grab” coffee mugs, t-shirts or sweatshirts, available for a limited time only: www.cafepress.com/KnifeRights Proceeds will help pay off the incredibly high cost of this victory.

The Amendment as Passed

H. R. 2892, page 42

SEC. 562. Section 4 of the Act entitled ”An Act to prohibit
the introduction, or manufacture for introduction, into interstate
commerce of switchblade knives, and for other purposes” (commonly
known as the Federal Switchblade Act) (15 U.S.C. 1244) is
amended-
(1) by striking ”or” at the end of paragraph (3);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4)
and inserting ”; or” and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
”(5) a knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism
designed to create a bias toward closure of the blade
and that requires exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist,
or arm to overcome the bias toward closure to assist in opening
the knife.”.

An explanation of how this new exception will protect assisted and one-hand opening knives can be found here: http://bit.ly/Mwd5E

About:
The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

Encourage your friends to join Knife Rights and you can win a custom knife in our Member-Get-A-Member progam, as well as free annual memberships.
Email: dritter@KnifeRights.org

National Rifle Association

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Back in June, we reported on a proposed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rule change that would have expanded the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 to include spring-assisted or one-handed-opening knives, and would have directly targeted the importation of “assisted opening” folding knives.

Assisted opening knives are frequently used by hunters, anglers, farmers, ranchers, firefighters, law enforcement and emergency personnel and anyone else who may need to open a knife with only one hand.

The proposed regulations would have designated all such knives as “switchblades” — despite the fact they do not fall under the federal definition of “switchblades” — and would have made them illegal for import into the United States.

Fortunately, in July, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010. This NRA-supported amendment then headed to a House-Senate conference committee.

Last week, the U.S. House passed the amendment. We are happy to report that this week, the U. S. Senate passed the measure as well.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

National Rifle Association of America

American Knife & Tool Institute

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)-You can keep and use your folding knives permitted in your state! With today’s vote in the U.S. Senate (and the President’s expected signature of H.R. 2892), the American Knife & Tool Institute has accomplished the seemingly impossible.

Thanks to the help of many AKTI members, supporters, lawmakers and supporting organizations, we have turned the proposed U. S. Custom’s proposed re-definition of switchblades into an effective and sweeping clarification of the Federal Switchblade Act of 1958.

As of today (October 20, 2009), the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, with Senate Amendment 1447 language still intact, has passed both the Senate and the House. This bi-partisan amendment was co-sponsored by 20 U.S. Senators, led by John Cornyn of Texas, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Orrin Hatch of Utah.

The Senate amendment essentially adopted the switchblade exception language which AKTI sponsored in Texas and that was signed by Texas Governor Perry on June 18, 2009. U.S. Customs, thanks to an outpouring of grassroots support and the intervention of more than 20 U.S. Senators concerned about the potential financial devastation to the entire sporting knife industry, became active supporters of the amendment.

AKTI thanks the following co-sponsors for the bi-partisan statesmanship that clearly saved all folding knives which we estimate are 80 percent of current sales in the nearly $1 billion sporting knife industry.

• John Cornyn (R-TX) Mark Pryor (D-AR)
• Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Ron Wyden (D-OR)
• John Barrasso (R-WY) Robert Bennett (R-UT)
• Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Susan Collins (R-ME)
• Bob Corker (R-TN) Mike Crapo (R-ID)
• Michael Enzi (R-WY) Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
• James Inhofe (R-OK) Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
• Ben Nelson (D-NE) Jim Risch (R-ID)
• Pat Roberts (R-KS) Jon Tester (D-MT)
• John Thune (R-SD) David Vitter (R-LA)

Prior to the Senate adopting the amendment, U.S. Customs also participated in negotiations on language, which they then supported. AKTI thanks both the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs for their ultimate support.

House support has been strong and broad-based during this effort, going back to more than 80 members of the bi-partisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus sending a letter on June 22nd for the industry position to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

Representative Robert Latta (R-OH) and Walt Minnick (D-ID) were staunch, active supporters of the sporting knife industry throughout the entire process in the Senate and the House.

Finally, as H.R. 2892 came back to the House for work in conference, AKTI wants to recognize the support given by various House committee chairs and their staffers.

• David Obey (D-WI) – Chair House Appropriations
• David Price (D-NC) – Chair House Appropriations (Homeland Security Subcommittee)
• Henry Waxman (D-CA) – Chair House Energy and Commerce Committee
• Bobby Rush (D-IL) – Chair House Energy and Commerce Committee (Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee)
• Charles Rangel (D-NY) – Chair House Ways & Means Committee
• Sander Levin (D-MI) – Chair House Ways & Means Committee (Trade Subcommittee)

As provided in Amendment 1447, U.S. Customs agreed to add a fifth clause to section 1244 of the Federal Switchblade Act that exempts “a knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure of the blade and that requires exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist or arm to overcome the bias toward closure to assist in opening the knife.”

AKTI expects that the President will sign this bill.

Thank you to all those lawmakers, AKTI members, AKTI Grassroots Supporters, the NRA, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, and Knife Rights for their support of a campaign that began with an AKTI call to action at the Blade Show on May 29.

About:
AKTI – The American Knife & Tool Institute represents the entire knife community and all knife owners as we have since 1997. We have successfully won every legislative effort so far. AKTI continues its mission to “Keep Knives in American Lives”

KnifeRights.org

Washington, Dc – -(AmmoLand.com)- The Senate has passed the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill with our amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act intact.

The bill will now be sent to the President for signature. There is no indication that he would veto the bill.

This is the culmination of an incredible effort on the part of Knife Rights, American Knife and Tool Institute, NRA, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and many other organizations who contributed. Each organization made key contributions to the effort, without which the end result might not have turned out so well.

Not many folks gave us much hope of succeeding when Customs first proposed revoking their rulings and redefining what is a switchblade back in May. At a time when bipartisanship is rare as hen’s teeth in Washington, we garnered support from both sides of the aisle.

We succeeded because the coalition of groups that came together to fight Customs represented a broad swath of American industry and grassroots. We succeeded in large part because of YOUR contributions, letters and calls in support of our efforts. You can give yourself a pat on the back for your effort and a job well done against all odds. It is time to pop the cork on that bottle of champagne and celebrate a victory for your knife rights and for all America.

About:
Knife Rights has quickly grown to become America’s largest grassroots knife owners organization. This latest fight against Customs Pocket Knife Grab has validated the power and importance of a dedicated grass roots organization in defending your knife rights. Now we have to finish paying pay for this effort. It took a great deal of money to accomplish all this. Carrying a fight like this to Washington cannot be done without lots of cash. The victory isn’t complete until we pay the bills. PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT THIS FIGHT FOR YOUR KNIFE RIGHTS! http://bit.ly/Scvp9

KnifeRights.org

Washington, Dc – -(AmmoLand.com)- On September 16th Knife Rights participated in a lobby day on Capitol Hill, along with representatives of the American Knife and Tool Institute, the NRA and the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation. Representing Knife Rights were Doug Ritter, Pete Brownell and Jason Kunkler (from www.knifecenter.com).

While it was an exhausting, and at times frustrating, experience, it was clearly beneficial that House Committee and Member staff heard from us why it was so important to retain the Senate Amendment 1447 in the final Homeland Security Appropriations bill. I am confident that had we not made this effort, we might not succeed in the end.

As for that, we are all still waiting. We remain cautiously optimistic, but it isn’t a done deal by any means.

Today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) indicated on the floor that he hoped to have the DHS Appropriations Conference Committee report on the House floor next Thursday. That is no guarantee, but at least gives notice of what they are aiming for.

Also today, the Speaker of the House appointed House Conferees for the DHS Appropriations bill.

If any of the Representatives below represent your district or you are from their state, please contact them immediately and ask them for their support to keep Senate Amendment 1447 in the final bill. If you operate a business that is involved in the knife industry or if knives are an integral part of your business’ or employee’s operations or activities, tell them that this amendment protecting assisted opening knives is critical to your business. Keep your call POLITE, SHORT and TO THE POINT! Do NOT ramble, do NOT discuss any other issues. This call should take no more than a minute or two, total, except for any time on hold. If you cannot follow these simple rules, please don’t call. Again, keep your call POLITE, SHORT and TO THE POINT!

At this point, PHONE Calls are BEST, FAX next, emails last. You can call their local district office; you don’t necessarily have to contact the D.C. office.

You can find your Representative’s web site with office phone numbers at: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml

DHS Appropriations Committee Conferees:

• David R. Obey (D-WI)
• David E. Price (D-NC)
• Jose E. Serrano (D-NY)
• Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
• C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
• Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
• Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)
• Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
• Sam Farr (D-CA)
• Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ)
• Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
• Harold Rogers (R-KY)
• John R. Carter (R-TX)
• John Abney Culberson (R-TX)
• Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL)
• Ken Calvert (R-CA)

CALL TODAY!

About:
Knife Rights has quickly grown to become America’s largest grassroots knife owners organization. This latest fight against Customs Pocket Knife Grab has validated the power and importance of a dedicated grass roots organization in defending your knife rights. Invest in a Sharper Future™. Become a Knife Rights member and make a contribution to support the fight against Customs Pocket Knife Grab.

Join or Renew your Knife Rights membership today! http://tinyurl.com/qnu988

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Knife Rights is pleased to announce that Pete Brownell has joined the Knife Rights Board of Directors. Pete is President of Brownells, Inc., the “world’s largest supplier of firearm accessories, gun parts and gunsmithing tools.”

Pete has been a supporter of Knife Rights since early on as a Cornerstone Charter Member. Brownells is a Cornerstone Corporate Charter Member.

In accepting the position as a Director, Pete noted, “in the firearms industry and as a gun owner I have battled for decades over issues that knife owners and the knife industry are now facing. I am honored to put my experience to use in support of Knife Rights and to serve its grassroots knife owner members.”

Chairman of Knife Rights, Doug Ritter, explained, “the ongoing fight over Customs Pocket Knife Grab has validated our original concept of Knife Rights as the grassroots knife owners’ organization.

Pete Bownell brings to Knife Rights a lifetime of involvement and connections in support of Second Amendment issues and organizations as well as his success in operating and growing a successful business. Pete’s knowledge and commitment will be a huge asset as we grow Knife Rights to expand our services to our grassroots supporters, America’s knife owners.”

About:
Brownells is the world’s largest supplier of firearm parts, gunsmithing tools, equipment and accessories. Stocking more than 30,000 items, the company supplies armorers, gunsmiths, and shooters worldwide. All of their products are backed by a 100% satisfaction, unconditional, lifetime guarantee. For more information, or to place an order, call 800-741-0015 or visit Brownells.com .

About:
Knife Rights. The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

Encourage your friends to join Knife Rights and you can win a custom knife in our Member-Get-A-Member progam, as well as free annual memberships.
Email: dritter@KnifeRights.org

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- We are still over a week away from Congress returning from recess, but we’ve been receiving an increasing number of emails, so an update seems to be in order. While Congress has been home being beat up in Town Halls and the like, Knife Rights has been diligently lobbying key Congressional staff and conferring with our coalition partners, as we indicated we’d be doing in our last News Slice email, “Customs Officially Backs Off” http://tinyurl.com/nzvxw3. This effort is ongoing and we will continue towards the final push when Congress returns to get the Amendment to the Switchblade Act that was passed in the Senate retained in the final Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.

Our meetings with staff have been productive and encouraging. I believe we have been successful at conveying the critical importance of this legislation to the millions of knife owners, their constituents and voters (YOU!), which we represent. We have also been encouraging the Administration (meaning Customs) to communicate their support for this amendment directly to the House Conference Committee leadership. Our meeting with staff of Senator Inouye, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a key player in this battle, gave us a good deal of encouragement that the Senate leadership of the committee is solidly behind keeping this amendment in the final bill. I’d like to especially thank Knife Rights Knifemaker member Ken Onion for his help with Senator Inouye’s office. Personal relationships are always a critical part of legislative solutions and this is but one example where that has helped get us to this point.

Time to call yet?
I have received numerous emails asking if it’s time to write letters to House members and in our opinion, and that of most of our coalition partners, it is not yet the right moment to do so. It isn’t yet clear that inundating House or Conference Committee members with letters will be helpful and the timing certainly isn’t yet optimum for a letter writing/emailing campaign, even if that is required. Congress isn’t even back from recess until Sept. 8th. Congress needs to get back to work and actually schedule a date for the Conference Committee to meet before we should make that effort. Timing is critical and we do best to keep our edges sharp, but wait to use that edge to best advantage. If and when we need you to write, we will let you know, along with providing model letters.

As the return of Congress approaches, we’ll be starting up again the regular telephone conferences with our coalition partners that we originally initiated in an effort to streamline and coordinate lobbying efforts and develop strategy, a crucial effort that helped to get us this far. Knife Rights is proud to have provided the leadership in developing this cooperative approach; encouraging collaboration and partnership in this fight for our rights.

We will be in touch as soon as anything critical occurs or if we need your assistance in writing your Members of Congress. Things won’t really start popping until Congress returns. Follow Knife Rights on Twitter and receive the latest updates and notices as soon as they occur: http://twitter.com/KnifeRights

About:
The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

Encourage your friends to join Knife Rights and you can win a custom knife in our Member-Get-A-Member progam, as well as free annual memberships.
Email: dritter@KnifeRights.org

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- In a letter to Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Customs and Border Protection has officially backed off their proposed revocations and rulemaking in recognition of the Amendment that was passed by the Senate which would add a new exception to the Switchblade Act covering assisted and one-hand opening knives, at least until the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill is acted upon in Conference Committee.

You can read the letter here but the key paragraph reads “The amendment would effectively obviate the need for CBP’s proposed revocations and render the current issue moot. Additionally, due to the numerous comments received in response to the proposed revocation, it is unlikely that CBP will take any further action prior to passage of the Appropriations Act.

This is about as close to a victory as we can come at this time. It may not be over until the fat lady sings, and we actually get the Amendment through Conference Committee, but for all practical purposes, we shouldn’t have to worry about Customs reaching into your pockets for your pocket knives anytime soon. Do take note that Customs has included some ambiguous wording in their letter, leaving their options open, no surprise. But, make no mistake, they have gotten the message; don’t mess with our pocket knives!

You’ll note mention of the “numerous comments received.”  That is entirely because of all your efforts to write and mail those comments in. You got their attention, and you got Congress’ attention with all your emails, letters and faxes to your Senators and Representatives. We are very pleased to have been a part of the coalition of advocacy groups that have helped bring this effort to this point.  None of us could have done it alone and everyone involved made key contributions.  We want to thank AKTI, NRA, the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms for their cooperation and support for this intense fight. I’d also like to give recognition to Les de Asis and Benchmade’s own legislative team who have played a significant role in the coalition efforts.

We still need to get this Amendment through the Conference Committee, but that becomes much easier with each passing day as the pieces, such as this, fall into place. We’ll continue to work in cooperation with the other advocacy groups to line up support in the House to accomplish that after the August Recess. As we noted in an email earlier this week, for the moment, just sit back, celebrate this victory and bask in the knowledge that we have come together to overcome great odds to get to this point. YOU did this, the voice of the people; the system sometimes still works.

About:
The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

Encourage your friends to join Knife Rights and you can win a custom knife in our Member-Get-A-Member progam, as well as free annual memberships.
Email: dritter@KnifeRights.org

Operation Switch Hunt

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- July 21, 2009 loomed large on the calendar for the edgencia. That was the date U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) was to announce whether it would move to outlaw assisted openers and other one-handed operation knives.

Although Customs had an extra 30 days to come to a decision, the agency did not make a ruling.

In typical Customs fashion, the agency did not release a statement as to why.

The American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI), however, did.

“[Customs] will not pursue their revocation proposal, they have told us and Senators involved in Amendment 1447 in the Senate, as long as there is legislative action pending,” David Kowalski, communications coordinator for AKTI, said in an e-mail.

The amendment Kowalski referred to passed the U.S. Senate on July 8. If signed into law, it would add assisted openers as an exception to the 1958 Switchblade Act. This would negate any attempt by Customs to reclassify assisted openers as illegal switchblades.

The next step for Amendment 1447 is the Conference Committee. The amendment will be prepared for introduction into the U.S. House of Representatives. If the measure passes in the House, it will go to President Barack Obama for signature.

For knife advocacy groups, this is the “wait” part of the “hurry-up-and-wait” style of Washington politics.

“The Conference Committee will not meet until after the August recess,” a statement on Knife Rights‘s Web site read. “As such, you probably will not be hearing too much until September, if then.

“Our legislative consultants tell us that it makes no sense to write your House Member at this point, with any action over a month away. Politics is often a case of hurry up and wait. We did the hurry up, now we wait.”

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- I’m sure you are wondering what was happening now that Amendment 1447, which solves the Customs switchblade ruling issue, was included in the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill by the Senate.

The simple answer is, for the moment, not much. The next and final hurdle is Conference Committee, where the Senate and House conferees hammer out the two different versions of the bill, and that includes whether or not our amendment survives. The House is currently focused on other business, in case you haven’t been watching the news, so the Conference Committee for this bill on the House side hasn’t even been officially named (though we have a pretty good idea who will be on it).

The Conference Committee will not meet until after the August Recess. Their goal will be to finish work by end of the fiscal year, September 30. As such, you probably will not be hearing too much, nor is there likely to be any call to action, until September, if then. Our legislative consultants tell us that it makes no sense to write your House Member at this point, with any action over a month away. Politics is often a case of hurry up and wait. We did the hurry up, now we wait until its time to hurry up again. Thanks very much for your patience. Don’t forget that we got to this juncture in large part because of all your efforts. Just one more hurdle to go.

That the conference committee won’t meet until after the recess doesn’t mean we’re not working with our friends in the House and Senate to shore up support. In fact, we are working very hard at that behind the scenes. Together with our colleagues in the other advocacy groups we are talking with key players who will be leading the effort to retain the amendment in conference. We’ll keep you advised of any important news.

For those who have noticed (and emailed us) that the deadline for Customs to act has come and gone, let’s just say you might consider that no news is good news at this juncture, and you might do best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

For those who have asked how Amendment 1447 would solve the Customs switchblade issue, we’ve got your answer here:  http://bit.ly/Mwd5E

About:
The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

Encourage your friends to join Knife Rights and you can win a custom knife in our Member-Get-A-Member progam, as well as free annual memberships.
Email: dritter@KnifeRights.org

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- Many have asked how this Amendment 1447 would solve the Customs switchblade issue.

We have received numerous requests to explain how Amendment 1447 would solve the problem with Customs & Border Protection’s proposed revocations and rulemakings along with their novel interpretation of what a switchblade is. We have laid out the reasoning below. This just covers these particular issues. The new exception may also offer additional salutatory benefits to knife owners that we will examine at a later point.

There are two issues to be reviewed. First, the language in the amendment clearly covers virtually all non-automatic folding knife mechanisms, regardless of whether they have a spring assist or not, or whether they are designed to be opened with one hand or not. These style folders are biased toward closure as compared to a conventional switchblade in which the spring is constantly applying pressure on the blade when the blade is closed and thus it is biased toward opening, requiring only the release of the blade to open automatically.

Second is the question of how this applies to Customs and how it will regulate their actions vis-a-vis such knives and eliminating their most recent interpretation of the Federal Switchblade Act.

To fully understand the applicability of the amendment, it is necessary to understand its relationship to Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is the regulation that describes those duties delegated to several government agencies, including the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency.

The applicable text is codified at 19 C.F.R. § 12.97, and directly concerns switchblade knives and makes their importation illegal. However, the drafters of Section 12.97 created an exclusion that permits the importation of certain types of knives that might otherwise be captured by the provision. These exceptions are codified in statute at 15 U.S.C. § 1244, and are deemed “exceptions” because the specific types of knives described do not fall under the purview of Section 12.97′s restrictions. For these reasons, if Section 1244 is amended so as to incorporate the assisted-openers and one-hand openers, these knives will not be considered unlawful under the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. § 1241 et seq.), and consequently, their import into the United States will be permissible.

Read the complete discussion here: http://bit.ly/Mwd5E

We still have one more significant hurdle to overcome, Conference Committee. We’re working very hard, hand in hand with the other advocacy organizations involved and our friends in the House, to try to ensure it makes it through the Conference Committee. Expect more on that next week.

NEWS FLASH: Just in. Our representative who went down and hand counted the letters reports that the final count of Comments letters mailed to Customs is 5,200!!! That is incredible; more than two and half times the original Customs estimate. It is a testament to your outrage over Customs’ heavy-handed actions and your dedication. That flood of letters put Customs on notice that they were not going to get away with this without a fight. Thanks to everyone who made that effort to mail their letters to Customs!

Review Knife Rights’ original announcement: http://bit.ly/Vg6Y6

You can read relevant announcements from some of the involved parties here:

NRA-ILA: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=5043

Sportsmen’s Caucus: http://tinyurl.com/lnvahb

Senator John Cornyn [R-TX]: http://tinyurl.com/nbnuh9

Senator Mark Pryor: [D-AR] http://tinyurl.com/ldjk9v

Senator Orrin Hatch [R-UT] http://tinyurl.com/l4zess

About:
The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

Encourage your friends to join Knife Rights and you can win a custom knife in our Member-Get-A-Member progam, as well as free annual memberships.
Email: dritter@KnifeRights.org

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- We’re going to ask you to write yet again, because your letters and emails and faxes are WORKING. You are the ones who have made this happen.

While our primary focus had been on stopping funding for Customs relating to their proposed rule, another track was being worked in the background that would permanently solve the problem. It was initially conceived as a follow-up to the urgently required need to stop Customs dead in its tracks, giving us time to work on a more permanent solution. Late Tuesday evening, even as we were marshaling support for the Cornyn-Wyden stop funding amendment, we received an amendment introduced by Senators Pryor (D-AR) and Hatch (R-UT) that would revise the Federal Switchblade Act (FSA); an amendment that was being supported by Customs.

It was a good start, but was not quite acceptable for a variety of reasons. Knife Rights led an effort to “perfect” the language of the amendment. Working with our attorneys and AKTI representatives late into the night and early morning hours, Knife Rights drafted language that we felt would permanently solve the issue. With the cooperation of AKTI and NRA lobbyists this revised language was handed off to Sen. Pryor who worked to get Customs to accept the revised language. After a concerted effort by Sen. Pryor, a consensus revision emerged that had the support of Customs and was acceptable to Knife Rights and the industry. Late today a new Amendment Number 1447 was introduced by Senators Cornyn, Pryor, Hatch, Vitter, Risch, Chambliss, Corker, Enzi, Barrasso, Graham, Roberts, Wyden and Crapo that adds another Exception in Section 1244 that clearly covers conventional assisted openers and one-hand openers. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough and a major step forward. Even better, it is a permanent solution rather than a stop-gap measure.

View the amendment here: www.KnifeRights.org/SAmdt%201447.pdf

This cooperative effort has resulted in a bi-partisan amendment that has the critical support from the Senate committees which have responsibility for the FSA and which is endorsed by the Administration (Customs and Border Production have signed off on it). That gives it a very good chance of making it through the process, but first we have to get it voted into the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.

NONE of this would have occurred without the groundswell of negative reaction to the Customs proposal. Your thousands of written letters mailed to Customs and the thousands more emails and faxes sent to Members of Congress asking them to stop Customs, are what raised the issue to a level where it could no longer be ignored. As the efforts by Knife Rights and AKTI garnered more support from others with more political pull, that led to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus’ letter to Sec. Napolitano. It all added up to a great deal of pressure on Customs to fix the problem. Customs has responded, to their credit.

The coalition of advocacy groups including Knife Rights, American Knife and Tool Institute, National Rifle Association, Congressional Sportsmen Foundation, Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and others were able to leverage YOUR outrage into an effective political force in a very short time. None of us individually could have done it alone and it would not have happened without the grassroots support you have provided. You deserve to pat yourself on the back for this effort to get it this far. In an age when we often feel like Congress and the Administration simply ignore the citizens’ wishes, this is an example of them actually listening to the citizens. YOU made this happen!

Now, we need to get the job finished.

The next step is a vote on this Amendment in the Senate. Yes, that means it is time to write again. And, hopefully you’ll need to write again to support an effort to get it through Conference Committee. That we are in a position to ask you to do this is proof positive that it works. We have a short and simple letter this time. Please WRITE NOW!

Locate YOUR OWN Senators and their email forms here:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Sample Letter to YOUR Senators (copy and paste into the email form). If your Senator is one of those listed at the end as co-sponsors, change the closing to THANK them for their efforts co-sponsoring this amendment.:

RE: Amendment Number 1447 to DHS Appropriations H.R. 2892

Dear Senator [Insert Senator's Name],

As a pocket knife owner, I support Amendment Number 1447 as a fair and reasonable solution to Customs’ rulemaking which would expand the interpretation of what a Switchblade is. I am pleased that Customs has endorsed this amendment as a solution.

I strongly urge you to accept Senators Cornyn, Pryor, Hatch, Vitter, Risch, Chambliss, Corker, Enzi, Barrasso, Graham, Roberts, Wyden and Crapo’s amendment, Number 1447, to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Individual Signature]

——————————————————–

About:
The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- Senators Cornyn, Wyden, Vitter, Crapo, Enzi, Merkley, Roberts, and Risch’s have introduced an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill to restrict funding. This would prevent Customs from implementing their proposed ruling that would prohibit the import of assisted and one-hand openers and in the process would broadly re-defined what a Switchblade is to cover almost all pocket knives, with potential far-reaching consequences. We need your help NOW to rally Senate support for this amendment to stop funding for this Customs rule-making.

We have gotten this far in large part due to your letters that have flooded in to Senate offices. We now need you to write AGAIN in support of this Amendment. Contacting your Senators is critically important to get this Amendment into the appropriations bill.

Please note that multiple members of a household can and should each write separately.

We encourage you to use the sample letter below and copy and paste into the Senators’ email forms. If you want to further personalize your letter, please be POLITE and NON-PARTISAN. The “enemy” is Customs, not the Administration. We can only succeed with the support of both parties. DO NOT yell, don’t rant and don’t be rude! Stay focused and stay on message. This is NOT the time or place to express your frustrations or make any other political points or complaints.

Locate YOUR OWN Senators and their email forms here: www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Here is a Sample Letter to your Senators (copy and paste into the email form). If your Senator is one of those listed at the end as co-sponsors, change the closing to THANK them for their efforts co-sponsoring this amendment.:

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RE: Amendment Number 1408 to DHS Appropriations H.R. 2892

Dear Senator [Insert Senator’s Name],

As a pocket knife owner, I am extremely concerned about the recently announced Customs ruling, which wrongly interprets federal law and would prohibit the importation of many of the sporting and utility knives that I use and enjoy. Their overly broad and novel new interpretation of what a Switchblade is could make me a felon for carrying a simple pocket knife. Additionally, the economic impact of the ruling on the knife trade would be severe. Pocket knives utilizing assisted or one hand opening technology are the dominant share of the market, and prohibiting the use of the technology would force significant job losses, and the potential loss of entire businesses.

This type of Federal regulation is totally unnecessary. I strongly urge you to accept Senators Cornyn, Wyden, Vitter, Crapo, Enzi, Merkley, Roberts, and Risch’s funding restriction amendment, Number 1408, to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, that prevents Customs from implementing this ruling.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Individual Signature]

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Have you signed up? Go to: www.KnifeRights.org
Protecting your right to own and carry knives and pocket tools.

KnifeRights.org

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- Write your Senators NOW to STOP funding for Customs’ Pocket Knife Grab. As you are aware, Customs is proposing to prohibit the import of assisted and one-hand openers and in the process has broadly re-defined what a Switchblade is to cover almost all pocket knives, with potential far-reaching consequences. Our best bet to stop Customs in the short term is for Congress to prevent them from spending a dime to implement their proposed ruling. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Bill will be taken up by the Senate on Tuesday, July 7th. We need your help NOW to rally support for an amendment to stop funding for this Customs rulemaking.

Timing has not worked in our favor as D.C. has become a ghost town due to the July 4th recess. We will have two days to make this work upon their return. Your emails to Senate offices will get their attention and be a huge help as our lobbyists and legislative representatives work Monday and Tuesday to get an amendment introduced and voted into the DHS Appropriations Bill. Contacting Senator Patty Murray [D-WA] and Senator George Voinovich [R-WV] is particularly important because they are ranking members on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Still, contacting your own Senators is also very important and their support is needed as well.

Pass this Action Alert to everyone you know and urge them to ACT NOW! Post on every online forum and social networking site you can. We need to generate thousands of emails before next Monday. If you have a personal relationship with any Senators or their staff, now is the time to call (well, maybe Monday since nobody is in the office now). Personally know a radio or TV talk show host? Please have them contact me (http://bit.ly/vo1uA ) so we can reach out to a wider audience. Help save our Knife Rights; STOP this ridiculous and illegitimate rulemaking by Customs. WRITE TODAY!

Please note that multiple members of a household can and should each write separately.

We encourage you to use the two sample letters below and copy and paste into the email forms. If you want to further personalize your letter, please be POLITE and NON-PARTISAN. The “enemy” is Customs, not the Administration. We can only succeed with the support of both parties. DO NOT yell, don’t rant and don’t be rude! Stay focused and stay on message. This is NOT the time or place to express your frustrations or make any other political points or complaints.

Just four simple emails can make a BIG difference!

NOTE that there are TWO different letters, one for Senators Murray and Voinovich and one for your own two Senators (unless Murray or Voinovich happens to be your own Senator):

Email forms for Senators Murray and Voinovich can be found here:

Senator Murray: http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
Senator Voinovich: http://tinyurl.com/2rpu4p

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1. Sample Letter for Senators Murray and Voinovich:

RE: U.S. Customs & Border Protection Proposed Revocation of Ruling Letters and Revocation of Treatment Relating to the Admissibilty [sic] of Certain Knives with Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms

Dear Senator [Murray or Voinovich, as appropriate],

As a pocket knife owner, I am extremely concerned about the recently announced Customs ruling, which wrongly interprets federal law and would prohibit the importation of many of the sporting and utility knives that I use and enjoy. Their overly broad and novel new interpretation of what a Switchblade is could make me a felon for carrying a simple pocket knife. Additionally, the economic impact of the ruling on the knife trade would be severe. Pocket knives utilizing assisted or one hand opening technology are the dominant share of the market, and prohibiting the use of the technology would force significant job losses, and the potential loss of entire businesses.

This type of Federal regulation is totally unnecessary, and I strongly urge you to work with representatives from Knife Rights and other and advocacy organizations on an appropriate restriction to prevent Customs from implementing this ruling.

Knife Rights and other advocacy organizations will be contacting your office to discuss with you concrete ways to prevent Customs from acting on their intention to reclassify sport/utility knives as switchblades.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Individual Signature]

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2. Locate YOUR OWN Senators and their email forms here:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

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Sample Letter to YOUR Senators:

RE: U.S. Customs & Border Protection Proposed Revocation of Ruling Letters and Revocation of Treatment Relating to the Admissibilty [sic] of Certain Knives with Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms

Dear Senator [Insert Senator’s Name],

As a pocket knife owner, I am extremely concerned about the recently announced Customs ruling, which wrongly interprets federal law and would prohibit the importation of many of the sporting and utility knives that I use and enjoy. Their overly broad and novel new interpretation of what a Switchblade is could make me a felon for carrying a simple pocket knife. Additionally, the economic impact of the ruling on the knife trade would be severe. Pocket knives utilizing assisted or one hand opening technology are the dominant share of the market, and prohibiting the use of the technology would force significant job losses, and the potential loss of entire businesses.

This type of Federal regulation is totally unnecessary, and I strongly urge you to support efforts by Knife Rights and other advocacy organizations to prevent Customs from acting on their intention to reclassify sport/utility knives as switchblades.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Individual Signature]

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Be a Knife Rights Spokesperson on the 4th!

Attending a July 4th party or celebration over this holiday weekend? Talk to everyone you meet. Ask them to write their Senators and Representatives. Send them to Knife Rights for more information and the sample letter. YOU can make a difference in this fight. Speak up and be heard.

It’s worth noting that virtually every Member of Congress heads home for the July 4th holiday, in large part to attend celebrations and meet with their constituents. If you happen to run into one of your Senators or Representative at a July 4th event, please take a moment to ask them to help stop funding for Customs’ Pocket Knife Grab. Be polite, non-partisan and sincere, and if they tell you it’s nothing to worry about, suggest to them that they are being bamboozled by Customs and to take a closer look. Nothing beats a personal, one on one, request for action. All the facts are available in our Comments submitted to Customs: http://bit.ly/1NqNYi

Doug Ritter
Chairman and Executive Director
Knife Rights, Inc.
a 501(c)(4) Member Organization
dritter@KnifeRights.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/KnifeRights

About:
The first step to building an effective advocacy group is building the membership. Power comes from numbers. Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there’s one that will suit you perfectly. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future. JOIN NOW!

Encourage your friends to join Knife Rights and you can win a custom knife in our Member-Get-A-Member progam, as well as free annual memberships.

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a proposed rule change that directly targets the importation of “assisted opening” folding knives.  (Read the proposed rule here.)

The proposed regulations would designate all these knives as “switchblades” (despite the fact they do not fall under the federal definition of “switchblades”), and would make them illegal for import into the United States.

The proposed rule could affect all knives that can be opened with one hand, because it also includes changes in the interpretation of “gravity and inertia” opening knives in a way that could outlaw all knives that can be opened with a single hand.

This means the new regulation could ban the importation of most of the pocketknives that are now in popular use.

And it could have a far greater impact.  The American Knife and Tool Institute and Knife Rights, Inc. have both reviewed the proposed new regulations and are very concerned that the impact will be far greater than just a ban on the importation of assisted opening knives.

If the new regulations also affect the broader category of single-handed opening knives, it could make millions of knives illegal for import.  More importantly, many local jurisdictions and some states depend on the definitions used by the CBP.

These changes could make hundreds of millions of knives now in regular use, illegal.  And, of course, millions of hunters use and rely on their knives and would be adversely affected by this proposed regulation.

CBP is attempting to expedite this rulemaking and is only keeping comments open until June 21, 2009.  The American Knife and Tool Institute and Knife Rights, Inc. are leading the charge against the.  For more information and to make your voice heard in opposition to these new regulations, please go to: http://www.kniferights.org/index and http://www.akti.org

About:
AKTI’s mission as a non-profit organization is “Keeping Knives in American Lives!”
Since 1997 we’ve been doing just that for every knife owner, user, retailer, distributor, and maker. Knives were one of man’s original tools. Something as useful and handy as a knife is an important part of everyday life and a large part of our independent heritage.