After posting a question to our Facebook page about whether it’s ever a good idea to have restrictions on knives, there were a variety of responses with some people arguing there should never be restrictions and others arguing there should be a few, like no knives at school and no knives longer than 6 inches for everyday carry. All of these are valid statement and a point of contention within the knife community.

However, one thing nearly all knife aficionados can agree on is that current knife laws should not be skewed or interpreted to crackdown on perfectly legal knives. Fortunately, Knife Rights is constantly running campaigns to defend knife owners’ civil rights and encourage safe use of knives. Knife Rights’ current lawsuit against New York City is the most important case the organization is working on, but the city is not going down without a fight.

In case you haven’t heard about the lawsuit, there’s been a crackdown on knives in New York City at the bequest of District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. A number of people have been arrested for carrying knives that should not be considered gravity knives, which are illegal in New York City.

DA Vance recently filed a suit to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis that there is lack of standing and failure to make a claim. Although these motions are simple formalities, Knife Rights came back with a scathing response. Here’s part of what it said:

It is literally possible for one knife to be simultaneous legal and illegal, and a person has no means of conforming his or her conduct to the law’s expectations. While the DA’s motion necessarily fails because it relies on selectively construing the facts in the DA’s favor, rather than in the Plaintiffs’ favor (as Rule 12(b)(6) mandates), a consideration of the merits shows how far off the mark the DA’s self-serving characterizations are.

Gravity knives, usually in legal terms, are those that can be opened with the force of gravity. DA Vance is using that to mean any knife that can be opened with the flick of a wrist, including ordinary lock-back knives. The basis of what is a gravity knife is completely arbitrary because it depends on whether a single cop can open the knife with the forceful flick of a wrist.

As the Knife Rights lawsuit moves forward, we will keep bringing you updates on the important legal matters pertaining to knives.