Assisted Openers Banned For Importation into the USA

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Assisted Opening knives have already (incorrectly) been classified as switch blades in TX. I stopped carrying my Kershaw after the court ruling came through.

Keep fighting this one.
 
does that mean i cant carry it in texas? im not very knowledgeable about knife laws so i dont know if i can, when i bought it they said it was legal at the store but idk
 
Various state laws aren't relevant to the action Customs is about to take. Please stay focused on the topic, it's important.
 
Texas Legislation defined a switchblade in HB 4456 that I understood passed and was sent to the Gov to sign.

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Search/DocViewer.aspx?K2DocKey=odbc%3a%2f%2fTLO%2fTLO.dbo.vwCurrBillDocs%2f81%2fR%2fH%2fB%2f04456%2f4%2fB%40TloCurrBillDocs&QueryText=switchblade&HighlightType=1

The term does not include a knife that has a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure and that requires exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist, or arm to overcome the bias toward closure and open the knife.
 
I thought that knives fell under the 2nd Amendment as "arms"... so why in the heck do we have to prove a "utilitarian purpose". The 2A gives us the right to own "arms"... AKA weapons... this is unconstitutional, plain and simple.
 
hso,

I may have missed it, still does/would the Case Russ Lock, and One Arm Jack pattern, be subject to this CBP interpretation?



I am thinking Veterans and families of Veterans that use[d] the One Arm Jack, as it was designed in part, due to amputations and other physical limits of returning Vets.
Russ Lock is another pattern use[d] for same reason, with similiar/same history.

Add, some health and safety persons in business, want a knife, an employee can safely, and effectively open and close one-handed.

In writing letters, if families and friends shared about Vets, with physical limits, or amputations, and even include a copy of a old photo -

I am going for hitting below the belt with common sense.
Yes I realize what persons I am dealing with, and would prefer to use a 2x4 to get their attention first...
Just that might not be conducive to our cause.
 
Txman231 said:
i have a gerber fast draw , is it going to be illegal soon? I just bought it too!!

Black_Toe_Knives said:
Only if you import to yourself from another country.

No, as I said local and state laws use US Customs definitions to interpret the law. I don't know what the law says about switchblades where you are Txman231, but if possession is banned then the following could potentially happen:

Police officer doesn't like your knife and hauls you up on possession of a switchblade. You deny this, saying it is an assisted opener. The prosecution show to the court the US Customs definition of a switchblade, demonstrating that your Gerber Fast Draw meets the definition exactly and that this exact model has been ruled a switchblade by US Customs. The court finds you guilty, and this definition enters into case law affecting all subsequent cases.

Essentially the same could happen for sale, possession in public etc.

Also, this situation is already upon you. The US Customs definition does stand. TODAY. There is the possibility to reverse it, but it has already been made.
 
The question I have is what argument would be used to demonstrate it is a bad idea other than I don't like it? Economics? Jobs? Crime statistics?

Everything has to happen pretty fast. No extension on the comment period and it does not have to be voted on by the legislature.
 
An assisted opening knife is NOT a switchblade under Texas State Law.

However, the list of prohibited weapons contained an undefined item called a 'flip blade'. Much like 'stiletto', 'poignard', or 'dirk', at the time, this item had no legal definition.

Later case law determined that an assisted opener was a 'flip blade' and thus prohibited by Texas Law.
 
From the Kniferights.org website

NRA Joins the Fight

We have also been working with the National Rifle Association in recent days and they have officially taken this issue up and you should soon be seeing evidence of their involvement if you are an NRA member. NRA recognizes that this ruling will not only affect virtually every NRA member, but that the precedent it would set would not be good for supporters of the Second Amendment.

Again, the Second Amendment doesn't say "Firearms," it says "Arms." While we primarily focus on our knives as essential tools, mankind's oldest, our essential rights to own and carry knives are enshrined in the Second Amendment.


I do hope that this is enough to warrant this issue be granted a thread in the Activism board.
 
We have threads running on this here, Legal and in General.

We've reopened the Activism thread and cleaned it up so it can be put to use.
 
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Fosberry said:
No, as I said local and state laws use US Customs definitions to interpret the law. I don't know what the law says about switchblades where you are Txman231, but if possession is banned then the following could potentially happen:

Police officer doesn't like your knife and hauls you up on possession of a switchblade. You deny this, saying it is an assisted opener. The prosecution show to the court the US Customs definition of a switchblade, demonstrating that your Gerber Fast Draw meets the definition exactly and that this exact model has been ruled a switchblade by US Customs. The court finds you guilty, and this definition enters into case law affecting all subsequent cases.

Essentially the same could happen for sale, possession in public etc.

Also, this situation is already upon you. The US Customs definition does stand. TODAY. There is the possibility to reverse it, but it has already been made.

This is not entirely correct. Many states have their own definition of what a switchblade is. In that case, the Customs definition will not be the definition used in any prosecution.

Also, switchblades are, in fact, legal in several states, so in those states it doesn't actually matter whether assisted openers are considered switchblades or not.
 
Where did this goofy idea that US Customs had any direct impact on laws in the various states? It's absurd.

Each state defines what a switchblade is on their own. They may be influenced by other state definitions (although any state with any interest in regulating switchblades already has a definition on the books) or by the definition in 18 USC, but US Customs does not define what a switchblade is at the state level or the federal level. That's defined by 18 USC for interstate commerce and by the individual states.

Now, there is the interesting issue that if Customs defines an AO as a switchblade, and Customs is a Fed agency, then what is the potential that the definition will creep into the definition of a switchblade under 18 USC restricting switchblade sales to "bona fide" dealers? Will the definition of a switchblade under the Interstate Commerce laws be broadened once Customs "defines" a switchblade to include the AO function? Unlikely, since the definition in 18 USC requires a button in the handle, which AOs lack.

That strongly stated, make no mistake that if Customs' position stands it will make every consumer unhappy since the price of AOs will go up since they will only be made by US factories and not Japanese, Taiwanese or Chinese. Actually happy news for some companies.
 
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Folks,

We have until June 21 to make US Customs retreat from this decision. Just 6 more days!
Ironically, the days leading up to Father's Day is one of the biggest knife sales periods in this country. How many of you remember giving your Dad a new knife in thanks for trying to raise you right?

Let's honor our fathers, and our Founding Fathers, and make Customs and our elected officials hear our disgust at these sorts of stupidity! Write and mail a letter today telling them that changing the definition of knives we've owned for years to that of a switchblade is unacceptable.

Keep it brief, keep it civil and clearly say up front that you are OPPOSED to Customs' attempt to redefine knives currently commonly in use as switchblades.

You can find the addresses for your specific congresscritters at http://www.kniferights.org/index.php...=77&Itemid=150

US Customs can be reached -

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Office of International Trade
Regulations and Rulings
Mint Annex
799 9th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20229

Attn: Intellectual Property and Restricted Merchandise Branch

RE: PROPOSED REVOCATION OF RULING LETTERS AND REVOCATION OF TREATMENT RELATING TO THE ADMISSIBILTY [sic] OF CERTAIN KNIVES WITH SPRING-ASSISTED OPENING MECHANISMS
 
i really wish i had heard about this sooner. i guess i don't visit the non-firearms section very often. this came to my attention in an email from TSRA just today. i have sent letters off to both of my senators and my rep to try to get the comments period extended, then came straight to this forum to see what else i could find.

this development disappoints me tremendously...
 
All mail needs to be in to US Customs in 4 more days.

I would be sure to get your mail in to your Congresscritters by Friday (day after tomorrow).

There will be NO EXTENSION on the comment period. Customs has already rejected an extension.
 
Oddly enough, when looking through Arizona Revised Statutes, I couldn't find the ban on switchblade or a description thereof...even though I've been TOLD thier illegal here for years, never went to look for one, not until my CZ-USA Benchmade Resistor was arbitrarily classified a switchblade...

tools.jpg
 
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