The USA tightening up the knife laws ??

[katana]

Hi all,
is the US knife laws going the same way as the UK's ? This could be the 'thin end of the wedge' affecting knife/bladed weapons in America ....and the export from there to other countries

Received an e-mail from another forum ....here is part of it ...

".....Customs' proposal will make criminals of 35.6 million Americans
The definition of a switchblade or automatic knife has been clear and explicit in federal law since 1958. There have been several state court cases in California, Texas, Illiinois and Michigan on the issue of assisted-opening knives. Every judge in every case has ruled they are not switchblades because they do not possess an activating button on the handle.

In fact, AKTI' s bill on the Texas governor's desk now clarified their statute, reaffirming the 50-year old federal definition, and clearly distinguishing one-hand openers and assisted-openers from knives classified as switchblades or automatics.

Be warned . AKTI fears that all folding knives will be at risk. U.S. Customs' proposal indicates it is directed at only the importers of assisted-opening knives. However, the language used in their revocation document is so broad and uses virtually every term ever applied to any knife that opens with one hand. We fear that they are attempting to bypass the will of Congress and that once they succeed in getting assisted-openers defined as switchblades, they could move against all folding knives. These include multi-tools, traditional pocket knives, one-hand openers, and assisted-openers.

If you want to view a video of what AKTI fears about this situation and about your being branded a criminal if you carry a folding knife, go to . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5KINtCajwI

AKTI's Knife User Data ( http://akti.org/PDFS/AKTI-KnifeUserData.pdf ) documents that at least 35.6 million folding knife users would become de facto criminals if Customs has their way. AKTI's Talking Points ( http://akti.org/PDFS/AKTI-CustomsTalkingPoints.pdf ) tells you in simple language what Customs is really trying to do. Share these documents with other knife owners and your elected representatives at the federal and state level. . When you are write letters or emails on this issue, you can use this data.

AKTI learned, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on June 10, 2009, that U.S. Customs has denied the AKTI request for an extension of the comment period......."

Regards David