The U.S. Government Is Trying To Take Away Your Pocket Knives!

[John Grossbohlin]

Make of this what you will... I thought it was interesting!

What's in your pocket? What's in your shop?

U.S. Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposal would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its overly broad new definition of a switchblade would also include all one-handed opening knives and most other pocket knives... Seems that our utility knives and other knife tools are covered under this too.

"It is now CBP's position that knives incorporating spring- and release-assisted opening mechanisms are prohibited..." from

found this stuff mentioned in a gun rights e-mail and followed the path to

[Han]

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news:TJWdnRFn8qfKN67XnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Entering my place of work (VA Hospital) requires me to show ID and send my briefcase or backpack through the Xray machine. If I leave my Swiss Army-type knife in there I get a hard time. As an employee I go through a minimally active magnetometer, so my pants pocket is the obvious alternative. It's nonsense, because I have many sharp or otherwise potentially hazardous things in my lab, but them's the rules. They do make some sense, considering the large quantity of confiscated bad things I have seen in the police office. Also, I was amazed at what I have seen, such as the visitor who put the thing that set off the magnetometer in the little bypass tray meant for watches, coins, phones etc. He was told that he couldn't bring this thing into the hospital. Either leave it outside somewhere or with someone, or don't go in. It was a set of heavy duty brass knuckles!!!

Oh yeah, many years ago, before these measures were implemented, an upset diabetes patient took a handgun into the hospital, and killed his treating physician, one of the most gentle people in the whole hospital.

When Prince Harry visited a few weeks back, there was indeed increased security ...

[Bob S.]

John,

That's a 63 page document that I don't have time to read thoroughly right now but a quick brief shows that you left out the word "imported" in your haste to spread the news. After looking at some of the imported knives being denied entry into the US, I would agree that those I did read about are not general utility knives and certainly do fall into the category of a weapon..

They define "switchblade" and the reasoning behind the ruling. What part is making my pocket knives illegal?

There are people out there that would insist that a fully automatic weapon is a necessary hunting gun - right up until they have been shot at by one.

Bob S.

[Swingman]

will be in five to ten years.

It's that simple ... no crystal ball needed.

[Han]

Swingman wrote in news:mrudnaYQNLICRa7XnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

All well and true (maybe). But what to do to prevent another Timothy McVeigh or James von Brunn from murdering innocent people.

[Swingman]

What does that have to do with it? Anyone who thinks that morality can be legislated is part of the problem.

[DGDevin]

Can you quote any of them? I've followed the arguments of the gun-rights crowd somewhat, and I don't recall seeing anyone insist that they need full-auto weapons for hunting. I'd be interested in knowing where I could find statements from people that they need machine guns for hunting, got any links handy?

[Han]

Swingman wrote in news:AaKdnX4ygp-

3Qa7XnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Exactly. But that is not my question. Why did an innocent guard at a museum have to die? Why did all those people in the Murrah building in Oklahoma City have to die? Or is that the risk of living?

[dpb]

Han wrote: ...

It's a risk of living in a (moderately) open society, yes...

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[Greg O]

I fail to see what Oklahoma and Timothy McVeigh have to do with gun/knife control! Perhaps I am confused, but perhaps controlling the sale of fertilizer and diesel fuel could have prevented Oklahoma! The point that so many gun control people miss is that if bad people want to do bad things they will find a way. Greg

[HeyBub]

Conversely, there are people who would believe a fully-automatic gun would be nice whenever they are shot at by anything.

Remember the rule: "He who puts the most metal in the air generally wins."

[J. Clarke]

Can't stop the McVeighs. You'd have to ban bat shit and diesel fuel.

[HeyBub]

Nothing more than what we're doing.

While tragic, the actions of McVeigh or von Brunn are the price we must pay for freedom.

You don't ban the practice of medicine because of the occasional screw-up due to incompetence, error, or negligence. Those you accept as regrettably inevitable while trying to minimize their appearance with actions short of interfering with all the cases where the regulation would get in the way.

[Morris Dovey]

Well, we could pass legislation to ban diesel fuel and ammonia and chicken guano and...

...or we could just pass legislation to make murder illegal.

Hmm, that probably wouldn't work - perhaps if we just dis-armed all newborns...

[Doug Winterburn]

Because there are bad people in the world.

Or is that the risk of living?

[LD]

crickets ...

[LD]

Precisely! Even the Pointy Stick is banned!

[LD]

Stop fertilizing crops.

[Leon]

I can assure you of this, taking away their way of protecting themselves sure won't help.

[Leon]

Might want to rethink that question. Do you know of any one that will not eventually die? I suspect that more people die of natural causes than from weapons. Being killed has always been and will always be a risk of living.