The issue of gun rights and laws is becoming an increasingly hot topic with people on both sides of the aisle digging in for a long and contentious fight.
But what similar issue can get both sides of the political spectrum fighting together for a common cause? Knife rights and laws.
I’ve written about this dozens of times, but an old law banning “gravity knives” in New York City has been abused by law enforcement to apprehend and arrest thousands of New Yorkers.
This topic is intriguing and caught the interest of Vice, which shot a short video detailing the background of Doug Ritter of Knife Rights and the NYC knife laws.
Check it out:
For a six-minute clip, it does a good job capturing the story. It talks about Ritter’s interest in abolishing all knife laws, the Legal Aid Society working with Knife Rights to get the law repealed to keep innocent New Yorkers (mostly people of color) out of legal trouble, and those who have been affected.
The crazy thing about the issue is that it has bipartisan support and a repeal was passed by New York legislators twice! But Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed the bill twice.
I guess Vice didn’t really cover the police side of things, but to be honest, there’s not a compelling reason to keep the law on the books.
If you’re interested in learning more about Knife Rights or supporting them in their endeavors, visit the Knife Rights website to join or donate.
December 23, 2018 at 11:25 am
“I guess Vice didn’t really cover the police side of things, but to be honest, there’s not a compelling reason to keep the law on the books.”
I asked a LEO friend about this and he looked me straight in the eye and said “you’re not the guy we’re looking to put away with this…”
To which I replied “but (a) you force me to down grade my ability to carry a self defense folder (stiff slip joints only) unless I want to risk a felony bust for simply carrying a Buck knife, and (b) it appears you guys have arrested a lot (1000’s) of people who weren’t criminals till they were caught with a flickable 4″ lock-back.”
To which he responded “but we also arrested and later got for other charges thousands of serious criminals….”
All I know is the laws suck as they are currently written and implemented.
November 28, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Wonderful and serious subject matter! I, myself was ticketed in Orange, CA. for a concealed da
gger. It was in my back pocket with my wallet, the clip broke off that day and it fell to the ground , had to put it in the pocket as I was carrying things in my hands. The officer wanted to pat me down for weapons had me step out of the car where I informed him of the knife in my pocket. It was a cold steel push dagger with a Krydex sheath . the officer then informed me that being double edged it was a felony and he could be taking me in. He asked to search the vehicle , I told him no, where-as he said he was going to go ahead and search anyway… Because I couldn’t find my Regis or ins. info. Not finding anything, he said he wasn’t going to take me in on a felony, but was going to rite me up on misdemeanor concealed dagger.
At any time during court or befor it could be bumped up to a felony if the prosecution takes a look at the evidence. I only hope and pray that I get a lenient judge that will rule on the ticket with out seeing the evidence.
I had no idea that double edged knives were illegal! I fig uhh red that if I order a knife from a vender it’s ok to own. If you try to get a switchblade, they would not let you get it being from California.
What can you tell me that will help me other than get an attorney? Please, I may need all the help I can get. Than you…