"Bob S." wrote in message
...

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
m...
Make of this what you will... I thought it was interesting!

What's in your pocket? What's in your shop?

U.S. Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening
knives are not switchblades. The proposal would not only outlaw assisted
opening knives, its overly broad new definition of a switchblade would
also
include all one-handed opening knives and most other pocket knives...
Seems
that our utility knives and other knife tools are covered under this too.

"It is now CBP's position that knives incorporating spring- and
release-assisted opening mechanisms are prohibited..." from
http://www.kniferights.org/U%20S%20C...g%20Knives.pdf

I found this stuff mentioned in a gun rights e-mail and followed the path
to
http://www.kniferights.org/

John


John,

That's a 63 page document that I don't have time to read thoroughly right
now but a quick brief shows that you left out the word "imported" in your
haste to spread the news. After looking at some of the imported knives
being denied entry into the US, I would agree that those I did read about
are not general utility knives and certainly do fall into the category of a
weapon..

They define "switchblade" and the reasoning behind the ruling. What part is
making my pocket knives illegal?

There are people out there that would insist that a fully automatic weapon
is a necessary hunting gun - right up until they have been shot at by one.

Bob S.


Bob,

You missed a couple points... One being that the vast majority of the knives
sold in the US are imported. Even the Boy Scout pocket knive are these days
since the demiss of Schrade and then Camillus. Rather than rewrite the
thing, following is part of an e-mail being distributed by Citizens
Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to
Keep and Bear Arms have joined with Knife Rights to help fight this
unwarranted knife grab by Customs. Alan Gottlieb CCRKBA Chairman noted, "we
stand with Knife Rights in their support of Americans' right to own and
carry the knives of their choice."

And, just a reminder, the Second Amendment doesn't say "Firearms," it says
"Arms," and knives are clearly covered.

The U.S. Government is after your Pocket Knives! In a sneak attack, U.S.
Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives
are not switchblades. The proposal would not only outlaw assisted opening
knives, its overly broad new definition of a switchblade would also include
all one-handed opening knives and most other pocket knives!

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) on May 21st proposed revoking earlier
rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposed new
rule would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its new broad definition
of a switchblade could also include one-handed opening knives and could be
easily interpreted to cover most other pocket knives, even simple
old-fashioned slip-joints.

At this point, one-hand opening and assisted opening knives are 80% of U.S.
knife sales. For most knife companies, they represent all or the majority of
their product lines. These are the knives Americans take with them to work
and to play everyday.

Note, please, that CBP's interpretation of the Federal Switchblade Act forms
the basis for national, state and even local law and judicial rulings in
many cases. This ruling by CBP is NOT limited to just imports. This WILL
affect virtually everyone who carries a pocket knife, no matter the 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. Just yesterday CBP rejected numerous requests for
an extension to the unduly short comment period. Obviously, they'd just as
soon not hear from us. We're intending to disappoint them in that.

CBP's proposal would have effects far beyond that suggested in the title of
the proposal, "Proposed Revocation Of Ruling Letters And Revocation Of
Treatment Relating To The Admissibilty [sic] Of Certain Knives With
Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms," which would be bad enough even if it
only did that. However, this proposal would likely make it illegal for the
estimated 40 million law-abiding Americans who own and carry pocket knives
to do so. It would also cost this country dearly in destroyed businesses,
lost jobs and ruined families.

Thousands of jobs and billions of dollars would be lost. CBP clearly appears
to not have considered the consequences of this unnecessary, inappropriate
and even illegitimate action. Since CBP is not required to consider the
effects of their actions, only Congress or the courts can rein them in. If
left to the courts, the industry and our rights will be devastated and
America will lose much, regardless of who wins the legal fight.

The definition of what is a switchblade has been clear and settled for the
most part since the Federal Switchblade Act was passed in 1958 and has been
reaffirmed by many years of legal decisions. 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. CBP's convoluted reasoning in their proposal to reach
back beyond the law and to expand their regulatory purview by rationalizing
"intent" as justification for this new interpretation is a stretch, at best,
and illegitimate at worst. It simply doesn't meet the common sense test.

CBP's reaching beyond the clear language of the Act in making this proposal
is particularly questionable and irreconcilable because it flies in the face
of virtually unanimous recent state court rulings (including several cases
in California, Texas, Illinois and Michigan) where the issue of
assisted-opening knives has already been decided in favor of the existing
clear interpretation, that they are not a switchblade. They cherry-picked a
few bizarre and untypical rulings from New York state from some years ago to
provide support for their proposal, ignoring the many more recent rulings.

Beyond that, their significantly expanded interpretation of gravity and
inertia knives, also included in the Act, would clearly make one-hand
opening pocket knives illegal and according to industry sources, 80% of
pocket knives sold today are one-hand or assisted openers. Beyond even that
clearly excessively broad seizure of authority, we know from past
unfortunate experience in many cases over the years that this sort of
misinterpretation leads to potential abuse by law enforcement where even the
most simple and innocuous Boy Scout folding pocket knife can be opened
one-handed by use of dangerous and unsafe tricks, so that these too would be
covered under this expanded federal definition. This ruling would therefore
make almost all pocket knives subject to being considered switchblades.

The impact of this CBP ruling would go far beyond just imported knives
because this "agency determination" will be used by domestic courts and law
enforcement to determine what is a "switchblade" under both federal and
state laws. Many states do not themselves define switchblades and simply
rely on the federal definition and interpretation, which is only found in
rulings by CBP. Since interstate commerce in switchblades is prohibited,
except under very limited conditions, simply driving across a state line
with a pocket knife in their possession would make someone a federal felon.