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Get the new Knife Law App from Knife Rights

June 19, 2014 / Tim / 1 Comment

knife-app
I’ve lamented the fact that there aren’t many useful knife apps out there, aside from the fantastic Steel Knife Composition App from zknives.com, but now you can add another to that list: the LegalBlade app.

Created by Knife Rights, the app gives you information on knife laws for all 50 states, along with info on select cities and jurisdictions in the U.S.

As someone who travels frequently, I’ve been waiting for something like this to come along. Knife laws in the United States are a confusing mess. Each state has its own variations of certain laws and some cities have different laws than neighboring ones.

Donate to Knife Rights to Win Prizes, Including a $500 Giftcard to Knife Depot

November 8, 2013 / Tim / 2 Comments

knife-rights-low-res We here at Knife Depot strongly believe in the right for people to have access to one of man’s oldest tools—the knife. No organization does more to preserve your rights than Knife Rights.

The organization, as we’ve written about numerous times in the past, has done countless things to advance their mission of educating people about knives, giving knife owners a voice, encouraging safety, defending knife owners and accomplishing other knife-related goals.

If you’re looking to give back to the organization that helps keep a knife in your pocket, Knife Rights is giving those who donate the opportunity to win some gift certificates to several stores, including a $500 certificate to Knife Depot.

Your tax deductible donation to Knife Rights will not only offer you the chance to win a gift certificate but it will also be matched dollar for dollar be a benefactor.

Click here to learn more and donate to Knife Rights.

Knife Rights Giving Away $100,000 in Knives

June 12, 2013 / Tim / 6 Comments

MIL-TAC CS-1 signed by Glenn Beck

We’ve written about the accomplishments and battles of Knife Rights and even interviewed founder Doug Ritter on this blog, but the organization that keeps on giving is planning on giving away more than $100,000 worth of knives, guns and gear to anyone who donates $20 or more to Knife Rights.

All the pieces of gear, including a Ted Nugent-signed Star-Light Tactical Folder, MIL-TAC CS-1, limited edition knives and tons more, were donated to Knife Rights, so 100% of donations will go directly to preserving your rights to carry a knife. Here’s another knife you could win.

ESEE 6P Fixed Blade signed by NRA VP Wayne LaPierre

You can win one of these blades by going to the Knife Rights page and donating some money.

Knife Rights’ Case Against NYC Marches On

September 11, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

Late last year, the New York City district attorney tried to throw out a knife-related civil rights suit against him and the city on the basis that there is no standing. Well, a judge has just announced that Knife Rights, which brought up the lawsuit, does in fact have a valid case and the suit will proceed.

As a refresher for anyone who’s late coming to this story, DA Cyrus Vance Jr. cracked down on knives in New York City by doing two things that Knife Rights claims is illegal. First, they prohibited retail stores from selling certain types of knives that aren’t usually considered gravity knives (which are illegal in NYC). Second, police arrested people carrying these same pocket knives, which, again, these should be considered legal.

Gravity knives, which is a legal term, are defined by being able to be opened with only the use of gravity. Unfortunately, the DA has broadened that definition to also mean knives that can be opened by the flick of a wrist.

So, Knife Rights teamed up with companies and citizens affected by this broad use of force. But the courts aren’t letting the DA get out of this one so easily. Here’s more from Knife Rights:

“Despite their attempts to make this case go away, NYC and DA Vance will now be held fully accountable in federal court by Knife Rights for their disgraceful attempts to demonize the most widely-owned pocket knives in America as contraband, and to intimidate honest knife retailers into making six-figure forced ‘contributions’ to the City, under threat of criminal penalty, in order to avoid prosecution,” said Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter.

Knife Rights gets more support in civil rights suit against NYC

May 25, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

What is the definition of “gravity knife?”

That (and the definition of “switchblade”) is the fundamental question at the center of a slow but ongoing lawsuit against the city of New York. The organization Knife Rights is embroiled in a lawsuit against New York County D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr. and the city itself for using unconstitutionally vague terms to target merchants and citizens who sell or use one-hand opening knives.

Although updates about the lawsuit have been few and far between, Knife Rights just announced that its suit has been bolstered by two new plaintiffs: Native Leather, Ltd. and Knife Rights Foundation, Inc.

Native Leather is another retailer accused by Vance of selling illegal knives. The company was forced to stop selling knives deemed “gravity knives” and “switchblades,” had to pay fines and gave up most of its inventory, according to Knife Rights. The kicker is that Native Leather is still unsure of what constitutes an illegal knife. That’s one of the many reasons they joined the lawsuit.

Here’s more from Chairman Doug Ritter:

Continue reading

Knife Rights takes on Boston council over proposed ordinance

November 28, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

For most knife enthusiasts, careful attention is paid to the physical knife itself. They focus on what type of steel the blade is constructed from, the durability of the handle, blade thickness, etc. However, an important aspect of the knife involves the convoluted state of affairs in the political and governmental spectrum because they determine what people can buy and own. It’s times like these when we can be thankful for those who fight the good fight for knife rights.

Few groups are doing more of the dirty work to protect our rights than Knife Rights. Founded with the intention of stopping the United States taking stances against knives similar to countries in Europe, Knife Rights has gone on a crusade to defend the rights of knife enthusiasts through legal channels.

Recently, Knife Rights and the American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI) went up to Boston to advocate against a law requiring convenience stores to get a license to sell knives. While this might not seem like a major deal, this is a political move to demonize knives and gain points from constituents for being “tough on crime.” There is really nothing in the new legislation that would make Boston any safer from crime. There seems to be a concern that minors get knives from these stores to use with criminal activity, but there is already an ordinance that prohibits the sale of knives to minors. This new legislation is redundant and will only inconvenience small business owners.

Knife Rights and the AKTI offer a glimpse into the complex world of government by going to hearings and voicing opinions. Take the recent hearing in Boston for example. Only two councilors were at the hearing and they were the sponsors of the anti-knife bill. They contradicted their own statements and cited inaccurate news, which is very telling.

NYC District Attorney tries to dismiss case against him but Knife Rights fires back

November 15, 2011 / Tim / 0 Comments

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.

Knife Rights takes on New York City DA in lawsuit

June 10, 2011 / Tim / 8 Comments

New York resident John Copeland was shocked when he was nabbed by the police for having a folding knife with a three-inch blade that he bought from a reputable sports store in New York City. Apparently, police wrongly deemed this knife and many other folding knives an illegal gravity knife, according to the New York Post.

So, what’s the best way to get a city to address the problem? Sue them.

Knife Rights, the non-profit knife advocacy group from Arizona, has filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Copeland and another man against New York City District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been on a yearlong crusade to remove knives from the streets.

The only problem is, Knife Rights claims that Vance and police are wrongfully identifying any knife that’s easily opened with one hand as gravity knives.

NH knife rights preemption bill finally signed into law

June 9, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

Knife rights enthusiasts rejoice.

The New Hampshire knife rights preemption bill was finally signed into law by Gov. John Lynch meaning the law will take effect in 60 days, according to Ammoland.

For anyone who’s been following this story, the bill passed the state’s senate and house of representatives a while ago thanks to the effort of Rep. Jenn Coffey, author of the new book “Knives, Lipstick, and Liberty One Woman’s Journey.” But, with Gov. Lynch’s signature, the bill becomes law after 60 days.

New Hampshire is just the third state to enact knife law preemption, but the bill is another victory for the Knife Rights’ National Knife Law Preemption Campaign.

Essentially, what knife law preemption means is that counties or cities within a state cannot enact local ordinances prohibiting the use of certain knives. For example, a person with a several inch hunting knife might be fine in one county, but in the next, they might be breaking a local ordinance.

Rep. Jenn Coffey: From mother to knife rights advocate

June 1, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

Knives and lipstick aren’t two items that usually go together very well (unless of course they’re combined to make one of those cool lipstick knives), but somehow Rep. Jenn Coffey embodies both of these by being a woman and the ultimate champion of knife rights.

So, who is this Jenn Coffey? She is a representative in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the author of a new book titled “Knives, Lipstick, and Liberty: One Woman’s Journey.”

In the middle of last month, New Hampshire governor John Lynch signed her bill into law that according to Knife Rights means “New Hampshire now has no knife laws which stop law abiding citizens from buying, selling, owning, carrying, possessing, transporting, collecting, or lawfully using any type of knife.”

In The Cutting Edge’s interview with Knife Rights Chairman and Founder Doug Ritter, he expressed optimism that the New Hampshire law among others would help galvanize the movement toward more knife rights.

If you’re going to Blade Show 2011 in less than two weeks, you’ll have a chance to hear Jenn Coffey speak and get autographed versions of her book. Her story about how she went from an everyday woman to a politician and knife rights advocate will be heard at her workshop “Got Liberty? How to Repeal Anti-Knife Laws” on Saturday June 11th at 2:15 p.m.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear her story.