This means more effort will be required in Albany to push this bill to protect knife owners against opposition in the Republican controlled Senate. And that equates to giving Knife Rights our support to help stop the abuse of knife owners in NYC.
New York Senate Kicks Knife Owners in the Gut
for Second Year in a Row -- Refuses to Vote on "Fix"
That Would End Bogus New York City Knife Arrests
The Republican controlled New York State Senate has adjourned after refusing to vote on A.4821 -- legislation that would have required a finding of criminal intent in order to prosecute possession cases involving "gravity knives." The bill would have ended the bogus prosecution of tens of thousands of law-abiding citizens by New York City merely for possessing common folding knives that the City claims are gravity knives, with no criminal intent whatsoever. The Democrat-controlled Assembly passed the legislation June 9.
Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs Todd Rathner was in Albany this week working to build support for the measure. The bill was first introduced by New York Assemblyman Dan Quart (D-73 Manhattan) and the Assembly passed it by a wide margin (but also without Republican support). Last year, the Assembly also approved the measure, and the Senate also declined to consider it.
The bill would require that prosecutors prove "intent to use the [gravity knife] unlawfully against another" in order for someone to be prosecuted for possession of a so-called "gravity knife," which has been novelly interpreted by the City as any locking-blade folding knife that can be "flicked" open. There have been over 60,000 "gravity knife" prosecutions in NYC in the past 10 years, with the rate doubling recently. These prosecutions have focused almost exclusively on common locking-blade pocket knives, not actual historical gravity knives which were the basis for the statute back in the 1950s.
Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter said, "We are deeply disappointed by the Senate's refusal, for the second year in a row, to come to the rescue of the thousands of law-abiding knife owners being wrongfully harassed by New York City under an absurd interpretation of state law. How can these supposedly strong Second Amendment supporters in the Senate turn their back on knife owners who are being wrongfully prosecuted by New York City on a daily basis? This failure condemns thousands of knife owners to continued mistreatment and abuse by New York City."
Knife Rights' still has its Federal Civil Rights lawsuit pending against the City and District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. over this issue, but a legislative solution now would have prevented tens of thousands more arrests and prosecutions while the lawsuit wends its way through the courts.
Senate leadership has assured Knife Rights that they will consider a knife law reform bill next year. Knife Rights encourages all New York knife law reform supporters and Second Amendment supporters to hold the Senators' feet to the fire over the next six months. At every opportunity, every meeting, every town hall, keep up the pressure by insisting they support knife law reform next year.
New York Senate Kicks Knife Owners in the Gut
for Second Year in a Row -- Refuses to Vote on "Fix"
That Would End Bogus New York City Knife Arrests
The Republican controlled New York State Senate has adjourned after refusing to vote on A.4821 -- legislation that would have required a finding of criminal intent in order to prosecute possession cases involving "gravity knives." The bill would have ended the bogus prosecution of tens of thousands of law-abiding citizens by New York City merely for possessing common folding knives that the City claims are gravity knives, with no criminal intent whatsoever. The Democrat-controlled Assembly passed the legislation June 9.
Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs Todd Rathner was in Albany this week working to build support for the measure. The bill was first introduced by New York Assemblyman Dan Quart (D-73 Manhattan) and the Assembly passed it by a wide margin (but also without Republican support). Last year, the Assembly also approved the measure, and the Senate also declined to consider it.
The bill would require that prosecutors prove "intent to use the [gravity knife] unlawfully against another" in order for someone to be prosecuted for possession of a so-called "gravity knife," which has been novelly interpreted by the City as any locking-blade folding knife that can be "flicked" open. There have been over 60,000 "gravity knife" prosecutions in NYC in the past 10 years, with the rate doubling recently. These prosecutions have focused almost exclusively on common locking-blade pocket knives, not actual historical gravity knives which were the basis for the statute back in the 1950s.
Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter said, "We are deeply disappointed by the Senate's refusal, for the second year in a row, to come to the rescue of the thousands of law-abiding knife owners being wrongfully harassed by New York City under an absurd interpretation of state law. How can these supposedly strong Second Amendment supporters in the Senate turn their back on knife owners who are being wrongfully prosecuted by New York City on a daily basis? This failure condemns thousands of knife owners to continued mistreatment and abuse by New York City."
Knife Rights' still has its Federal Civil Rights lawsuit pending against the City and District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. over this issue, but a legislative solution now would have prevented tens of thousands more arrests and prosecutions while the lawsuit wends its way through the courts.
Senate leadership has assured Knife Rights that they will consider a knife law reform bill next year. Knife Rights encourages all New York knife law reform supporters and Second Amendment supporters to hold the Senators' feet to the fire over the next six months. At every opportunity, every meeting, every town hall, keep up the pressure by insisting they support knife law reform next year.
