Senators team up to ensure assisted-opening pocketknives are exempt from government regulation
WASHINGTONU.S. Sens. John Cornyn R-Texas Mark Pryor D-Ark. and Orrin Hatch R-Utah released the following statement after the Senate passed the DHS Appropriations Bill Conference Report which includes their amendment to protect the use of pocketknives. The legislation which is now on its way to President Obama for his signature passed the House of Representatives last week.
Earlier this year U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) proposed amending and expanding the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 to include spring-assisted or one-handed-opening knives. The Senators amendment clarifies that assisted-opening pocketknives are exempt from regulation. Sen. Cornyn introduced the amendment with Sens. Pryor and Hatch in July.
In these perilous economic times the last thing the federal government should do is take any action that will adversely affect job creation. This legislation ensures thousands of Texans and tens of thousands of Americans in the sporting goods manufacturing and retail industry will not lose their jobs. It will also ensure that the 35 million Americans who own pocketknives are free to continue using them without the threat of federal agency intrusion. Im hopeful that President Obama will sign this important measure into law without delay" said Sen. Cornyn.
Customs and Border Patrol missed the mark with their interpretation inadvertently banning ordinary pocketknives. In Arkansas I heard from firemen construction workers farmers policemen electricians hunters and fishermen who all took notice. A pocketknife for many people can serve as an entire toolbox and the government really has no business taking that away from them. Im pleased we could prevent this unreasonable ban from advancing" said Sen. Pryor.
Without this amendment there was a real danger that 80 percent of the pocketknives sold in the U.S. would have been reclassified as illegal switchblades which would not only hurt knife and tool manufacturers across the nation but infringe on Americans knife-carrying rights" said Hatch. I am very pleased to see the amendment sponsored by myself and Senators Pryor and Cornyn was accepted by the DHS appropriations conference to ensure that knives used every day by men and women who are craftsmen sportsmen and tradesmen are not wrongly categorized as a switchblade" said Sen. Hatch.
This amendment was necessary to prevent commonly-used pocketknives from being branded as illegal switchblades. The National Rifle Association is grateful to Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) whose leadership fixed a provision that would have criminalized millions of law-abiding Americans -- including millions of hunters and sportsmen" said Chris W. Cox Executive Director for NRAs Institute for Legislative Action.
Our thanks to Texas Senator John Cornyn and many other federal lawmakers. Senate Amendment 1447 based on the AKTI-initiated Texas statute passed in June was the basis for saving more than 35 million knife owners and users and the entire sporting knife industry" said Mike Manrose of Meyerco in Dallas Texas and a member company of the American Knife & Tool Institute.
Background
This amendment is endorsed by American Knife and Tool Institute Knife Rights National Rifle Association Gun Owners of America Knifemakers Guild Meyerco USA Benchmade Knife Company Gerber - Fiskars the Congressional Sportsmens Foundation and SOG Specialty Knives and Tools.
