A.G. Russell Knives
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Letter from A. G. September 2009
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September 2009
Dear Customer and Fellow Knife Enthusiast;
In our previous catalog, A. G. gave you some information about an issue with U. S. Customs that promised to make the majority of the folding knives we all carry every day illegal. As of today (July 20, 2009), with leadership from the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI), the knife community has made some real progress on this issue. This progress is directly related to the effort made by a very large number of people - from the 37 knife companies; from manufacturers, distributors, retailers and other support companies who are members of AKTI and who have devoted countless hours and a large amount of funds to the effort; and from over 5,200 individuals who took the time and made the effort to send "paper mail" directly to U. S. Customs objecting to their proposed ruling.
As a result of efforts the knife community has made, there has been a great deal of attention to this issue from members of the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives. At this point, an amendment has been added to the Senate's Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill, and passed by the Senate. Quoted below is a note from Dave Kowalski, AKTI Communications Coordinator with a brief explanation of that amendment. Hopefully, by the time you are reading this letter, the House will have accepted the amendment and the bill will have passed the House and been signed by the President. If it has not, we need your help in contacting House members to encourage them to keep this amendment as part of the appropriations bill. Sign up NOW as an AKTI Grassroots Supporter to get email when your help is needed most. The AKTI website is the place to find the most current information about the status of this bill and for information about what you can do to make a real difference in the outcome of this effort to keep our folding knives legal. The new to addition to the Switchblade Act is printed below in red.
"Changes to Federal Switchblade Act (in Process … NOT YET LAW)
AKTI NOTE: Exception (5) to Section 1244 below was passed (as part of a manager's amendment resulting from acceptance of Amendment 1447) by a vote of the full Senate (84-6) on July 9. It is the language provided by AKTI that was accepted unanimously by the 2009 Texas Legislature and signed into law by Texas Governor Perry on June 18, 2009.
This agreement was reached in the Senate among the Appropriations committee, the Finance Committee, the Commerce, Science and Transportation committee and with Customs and Border Protection on July 8.
Senators Cornyn, Pryor, Wyden, Crapo, Hatch, Vitter, Risch, Chambliss, Corker, Enzi, Barrasso, Graham, Merkley, Thune, Bennett, Collins, Inhofe, Ben Nelson, Tester and Roberts co-sponsored this amendment (1447). AKTI thanks them.
This new language [(5) below], as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations for FY 2010, now goes to conference with its counterpart from the U.S. House of Representatives for potential agreement and action. We will keep you informed on this timeline.
SPECIAL CAUTION: The amendment language inserted into the Act at 1244 (5) is not yet law. It has to be accepted by the House and signed by the President."
"Section 1244. Exceptions
Sections 1242 and 1243 of this title shall not apply to – . . . . . . ."
(5) a knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward
closure of the blade and that requires exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist or arm to overcome
the bias toward closure to assist in opening the knife."
Please notice that this effort has been supported in both the House and the Senate in a bipartisan way. Five Senate Democrats joined fifteen Republicans to co-sponsor the amendment to the Senate appropriations bill and in the House eighteen Democrats joined with sixty-one Republicans in signing an early letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano asking Customs to reconsider their proposed ruling. If you appreciate our right to carry knives, be sure to thank all legislators who have supported us in this effort. Lists of those who have supported efforts in both the House and the Senate can be found at akti.org.
AKTI was founded just over ten years ago for exactly this purpose – to protect our right to own and carry knives. We have recently had an impact on knife legislation in Arkansas, South Carolina, Hawaii and Texas. Please be sure to support AKTI with your membership and financial contribution to ensure that we can continue to protect these rights.
Sincerely,
Goldie Russell, President
A. G. Russell Knives, Inc. & American Knife & Tool Institute
