House Bill 1432 and Senate Bill 1347 Eliminate Concealed Carry Restrictions for Law-Abiding Citizens Using Automatic Knives for Professional and Recreational Uses

January 25, 2017 – Cody, WY – The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) announced this week the passage of HB 1432/SB 1347 by the Virginia House and Senate Committees on Courts of Justice. The legislation, conceived by AKTI and sponsored by Delegate Lee Ware, R-65, and Senator Bryce Reeves, R-17, will reform current state laws to authorize any person to carry an automatic knife concealed when such knife is carried for the purpose of engaging in a lawful profession or recreational activity the performance of which is aided by the use of an automatic knife. The bill also removes automatic knives from the list of weapons for which selling, bartering, giving, or furnishing is a Class 4 misdemeanor. The legislation now moves to the House and Senate floor for votes the next few weeks.
Virginia Delegate Lee Ware
“Ensuring that the Code of Virginia provides for the safety of the public, while not impinging on the rights, and needs, of law-abiding citizens is one of the most important obligations entrusted to a member of the General Assembly,” said HB 1432’s sponsor, Delegate Ware. “I am pleased to be patron of House Bill 1432, I am grateful for the indispensable assistance of AKTI in preparing and securing Committee passage of the bill, and I look forward to advocating for full passage of the bill during the 2017 General Assembly.”

AKTI is a non-profit 501(c)6 organization that represents all segments of the knife industry and knife users, promoting reasonable and responsible knife legislation and enforcement. We believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to carry their essential and valuable tools without the fear of arbitrary, inconsistent and ineffective government restrictions.

“We are extremely pleased to see HB 1432 and SB 1347 pass the Courts of Justice Committees, and look forward to the bill passing the House of Delegates and the Senate in the near future,” said AKTI’s Executive Director, Jan Billeb. “We have worked closely with Delegate Ware and Senator Reeves on this bill, and are thankful for his leadership on the issue.”

CJ Buck CEO Buck Knives Inc.

“Delegate Ware and Senator Reeves are true champions of responsible knife owners in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said AKTI President CJ Buck. “We are also grateful to Chairman Rob Bell, R-58, Chairman Obenshain, R-26, for his support in passing the bill. Finally, AKTI wants to thank Knife Rights and the Virginia Citizens’ Defense League (VCDL) for extending their support of the legislation.”

This and other pro-knife legislative efforts can be followed on the American Knife & Tool Institute’s website www.AKTI.org.

Legislation Would Remove Concealed Carry Restrictions for Law-Abiding Citizens Using Automatic Knives for Professional and Recreational Uses

December 19, 2016 – Cody, WY – The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) today announced the prefiling of Virginia HB 1432 by Delegate Lee Ware. HB 1432 will reform current state laws to allow for the concealed carry of an automatic knife when the knife is carried for the purpose of engaging in a lawful profession or recreational activity when the performance of such task is aided by use of an automatic knife. HB 1432 also removes automatic knives (also referred to as switchblades) from the list of weapons the selling, bartering, giving, or furnishing of which is a Class 4 misdemeanor. The legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Courts of Justice, and will likely be heard before the Committee in the beginning of 2017.

AKTI is a non-profit 501(c)6 organization that represents all segments of the knife industry and knife users, promoting reasonable and responsible knife legislation and enforcement. We believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to carry their essential and valuable tools without the fear of arbitrary, inconsistent and ineffective government restrictions.

“We are extremely pleased to see HB 1432 pre-filed, and look forward to the bill passing the General Assembly in 2017,” said AKTI’s Executive Director, Jan Billeb. “We have worked closely with Delegate Ware on this bill, and are thankful for his leadership on the issue. Delegate Ware is a true champion of responsible knife owners in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

“Ensuring that the Code of Virginia while providing for the safety of the public does not impinge on the rights–and needs–of law-abiding citizens is one of the most important obligations entrusted to a member of the General Assembly. I am pleased to be patron of House Bill 1432, I am grateful for the indispensable assistance in preparing it of AKTI, and I look forward to advocating for passage of the bill during the upcoming 2017 General Assembly.” [Delegate Lee Ware (R-65)]

This and other pro-knife legislative efforts can be followed on the American Knife & Tool Institute’s website www.AKTI.org.

“Common Sense Award” Recognizes the Senator and Congressman’s Bipartisan Leadership on a Federal Initiative to Better Protect Citizens from Complex and Burdensome Government Regulations

September 19, 2016 – Cody, WY – The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) last week presented Senator Martin Heinrich, D-NM, and Congressman Kurt Schrader, D-OR 5, with the “AKTI Common Sense Award.” The award is designed to honor Members of Congress who have worked across party lines to further common sense legislation.

In today’s annual presentation, AKTI honored Senator Heinrich and Congressman Schrader for their bi-partisan work on the Knife Owners’ Protection Act (KOPA), a bill that will ensure federal protection for lawful knife owners from the current patchwork of state and local knife laws.

“I would like to thank the American Knife and Tool Institute for this award, recognizing the growing bipartisan support for the Knife Owners Protection Act,” said Senator Heinrich. “This legislation will protect law abiding knife owners from being arrested or fined when they are traveling with hunting or pocket knives. Sportsmen and hunters who are safely transporting their knives from one location where they are legal to another should not fear unfair prosecution when they cross state lines and jurisdictions. With the patchwork of knife laws across the country, this legislation is just common sense.”

“When responsible knife owners transport their knives across state lines, they are very often met with drastically different laws regulating their knives from state to state,” said Rep. Schrader. “This creates a lot of legal confusion that no other group is forced to face. We worked together to find a common sense solution to alleviate a lot of that confusion.”

Under current U.S. code, lawful gun owners are allowed to transport firearms legally in both the state of origin and the state of destination, provided they are properly stored and in accordance with all federal restrictions. However, no such protection exists for knife owners wishing to transport knives to and from states in which they are legal, but through jurisdictions with varying requirements. KOPA would allow legal interstate travel for knives, provided the knives are transported to and from states where the law allows possession of said knives, and they are transported in closed containers. In the Senate, the bill, S. 1315, has passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and is sponsored by Senators Mike Enzi, R-WY, and Ron Wyden, D-OR, and co-sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin, D-WV, Martin Heinrich, D-NM, Mike Lee, R-UT, John Thune, R-SD, Jon Tester, D-MT, Jerry Moran, R-KS, Tom Udall, D-NM, Steve Daines, R-MT, Maria Cantwell, D-WA, Mike Crapo, R-ID, Jeff Merkley, D-OR, and Jim Risch, R-ID. In the House, H.R. 419 is sponsored by Congressman Matt Salmon, R-AZ 5, and co-sponsored by Reps. Kurt Schrader, D-OR 5, Thomas Massie, R-KY 4, Trent Franks, R-AZ 8, Paul Gosar, R-AZ 4, Cynthia Lummis, R-WY At Large, David Schweikert, R-AZ 6, Martha McSally, R-AZ 2, and Rob Bishop, R-UT 1.

“Since our inception, AKTI has been a bi-partisan organization that looks to partner with legislators operating above partisan politics and interested in bringing sound, practical solutions for people who depend on knives in their daily lives,” said CJ Buck, AKTI President and Co-Founder. “It has been an honor to work with Senator Heinrich and Congressman Schrader on common sense legislation that brings clarity to people who travel with knives as part of their daily professional and recreational activities.”

For nearly 20 years, AKTI has served as the go-to resource for knife owners looking to ensure that they comply with all local, state, and federal laws related to knives. One of the biggest complaints and points of confusion AKTI hears about from lawful knife owners involves the interstate transport of knives. While citizens are making every effort to comply with patchwork state and local laws, it has become clear that there is the need for a federal protection for sportsmen, hunters, and other law-abiding knife owners that does not interfere with state and local restrictions on knife use.

www.akti.org