Posted on 01/17/2012 1:47:43 PM PST by marktwain
LAS VEGAS — There’s a new piece of legislation in Olympia aimed at defining a “switchblade” knife that contains what appears to be a contradictory, or at least confusing, definition that has some Second Amendment activists puzzled.
This column will have a chance to speak to several of them during the next four days here at the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show. They’re knife makers, whose wares will be just as much on display as new guns and other gear.
Senate Bill 6179 says this about switchblades:
"Switchblade knife" means any knife with a blade that is automatically released by a spring mechanism or other mechanical device, or any knife having a blade which opens, or falls, or is ejected into position by the force of gravity, or by an outward, downward, or centrifugal thrust or movement. A knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure of the blade and that requires physical exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist, or arm to overcome the bias toward closure to assist in opening the knife is not a switchblade knife.
Presumably, this means that knives from various Oregon-based manufacturers that are generically called “assisted opening” knives do not fall under the switchblade umbrella. But at the top of the previous paragraph, we have knives with blades that are automatically released by a spring mechanism or other mechanical device, being called switchblades. Then knives that contain springs, detents or “other” mechanisms are not switchblades.
Perhaps the part of this legislation that makes it bad is that it exempts law enforcement, firefighters and military personnel while on the job.
What makes these folks special?
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Knives are also arms protected by the Second Amendment.
Sounds redundant, Switchblade Knife, Pistol Gun.
Legislatures gone mad.
Back in the 80’s I was reading the Florida statutes regarding concealed weapons. Fortunately these old laws have been superseded or repealed.
I was shocked to see “Buck Knife” listed as a prohibited weapon. I thought that was clearly a badly crafted law as it technically would have included all “Buck” brand knives.
Well, that describes just about all folding pocket knifes.
I really, really, really, really, don’t understand why spring loaded knives are so dangerous. Did thousands die in the old days in the brief span between pressing a button and opening the blade with your fingers? Did it make enough of a difference to warrant the attention of lawmakers? Or are we just as paranoid and impressionable as those in the long past who went after witches and satanic ritualistic murderers.
I remember when those old gangster movies often showed a guy with black oily hair, pulling out a switchblade and carving up someone.
That probably had a profound effect on lawmakers. The fact that it has little to do with reality doesn’t matter.
Then I suppose you are incapable of knowing why a pistol grip or black plastic stock make a rifle infinitely more lethal.
The simplified explanation:
If you have to actually touch the blade to make it open, its not a switchblade. If you can make the blade open without touching the blade at all, then its a switchblade. Butterfly knives are a possible exception. They are illegal in some places and others they are not.
The reason why they can’t outlaw “spring assist” is because they haven’t figured out a way to distinguish them from a plain old ordinary pocket knife. an ordinary pocket knife is held closed by a spring. and and ordinary pocket knife is held open by a spring. Therefore, it is technically a “spring assist” also.
The whole “switchblade” idiocy needs to go away anyway. They only reason why they are illegal is because teens had a fascination with them back in the 1950s. You can take a plain old fashioned solid steel butter knife and sharpen it up real sharp and it is just as deadly as a switchblade and faster. In fact, I used to carry just such a knife. The older ones(like 75 years old or older) were of better quality steel and could be sharpened up just like a good work knife.
Semi-automatic guns become "assault rifles". Cigarettes become "instant killers". Trans-fats are "completely deadly". Salt is a "silent assassin". Your SUV is "destroying the planet". Switchblades make grandma uncomfortable, so they become "instruments of destruction."
“Then I suppose you are incapable of knowing why a pistol grip or black plastic stock make a rifle infinitely more lethal”
I understand the concept of more and less lethality. For instance, a nuclear device is deadlier than my fist, and as such I won’t object too strenuously if the government lets me have the latter and not the former. My perplexity was over whether or not the switchblade vs. regular blade lethality gap deserved the attention of legislators. Does a spring make it worse enough to warrant banning, when I can almost as easily be killed by a kitchen knife?
By the way, I don’t think pistol grips or rifle stocks ought to be banned, either.
“Then I suppose you are incapable of knowing why a pistol grip or black plastic stock make a rifle infinitely more lethal”
By the way again, “infinitely more”? Seriously? Like, it’s so much more lethal it can’t even be measured? That’s the sort of hyperbole that drives people crazy and makes them draft laws against switchblades.
Well, that describes just about all folding pocket knifes.
Pretty much. I have a pocket knife with about a 4 1/2 inch blade that does not lock down. If I clean and oil it good, I can open it with a flick of my wrist.
I bought it here in Washington at some antique shop out on the coast and nobody ever told me it is or might be illegal.
They are government workers. Civilians should not be allowed to have anything that can be used as a weapon because it presents a potential threat to the tyrants
Yeah. The big dummy! Some folks. Sheesh.
“Seriously?” No, not at all. Guess I should have marked it as such.
How many hospital visits resulted from switchblades accidentally opening inside the owners pocket and stabbing him?
However, as someone who has submitted to State scrutiny to get a CCL, this law as completely written is nuts.
As you point out it exempts public safety personnel from not only the prohibition on possessing switchblade, but now expands the laws to allow public safety personnel to “furtively carry” (i.e. concealed carry) a pistol, dirk, dagger, etc.
Another example of unintended consequences.
I have used a assisted opening knife as a firefighter and it is a Godsend when you need more hands. This does not mean that anyone else shouldn’t have one.
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