Operation Switch Hunt

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- On Oct. 16, the United States House of Representatives finished its approval of a Homeland Security appropriations bill that contains an amendment to the 1957 Switchblade Act.

It’s now up to the U.S. Senate to approve the bill’s House’s language before it is sent to President Barack Obama for signature.

If the bill becomes law, the 1957 Switchblade Act would be amended to permanently exclude assisted openers from the types of knives prohibited in the United States.

Threatening the chances of this happening is controversy regarding the appropriations bill itself, according to this Wall Street Journal article. The measure includes provisions to move Guantanomo Bay prisoners to the U.S. for prosecution. That conflicts with a previous House resolution banning the transfer of those prisoners to the U.S. mainland.

If support for the appropriations bill breaks down, the edgencia may have to start from scratch in passing legislation this session.

Both major knife advocacy groups, AKTI and Knife Rights, are suggesting not to contact their representatives in Washington at this time.

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.”

Operation Switch Hunt

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- Never in its history has BLADE undertaken such an operation. But the country has not seen this kind of sweeping knife legislation since the 1958 Federal Switchblade Act. The United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (Customs) is seeking to redefine assisted openers, as well as other knives operated with one hand, as illegal switchblades.

If put into effect, the measure will drastically alter the knife landscape in the United States, and not in a good way. For more background on this push by Customs, click here.

But kicking the toe of the Customs giant is not going to change its mind.

Enter Operation Switch Hunt.

Membership in Operation Switch Hunt is free to anyone interested in preserving their right to keep and bear arms. No application. No fees. Members are asked only to stay informed and take action.

The first phase of Operation Switch Hunt is to follow the money. Customs is more likely to buckle to pressure from the people who allocate its money.

Overseeing Customs is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Funding for DHS, as with all government operations, comes from the United States Congress.

Operation Switch Hunt Begins

Both houses of Congress have committees that oversee DHS activities. The people who sit on these committees are the ones Operation Switch Hunt members need to contact about the Customs issue.

Click here to see a list of those people.