As promised in our New Years message, we are pleased to announce that another Knife Rights bill is now in play. Florida State Senator Thad Altman (R- District 24) has filed a Knife Law Preemption bill developed by Knife Rights with cooperation of our friends at Florida Carry. We'd also like to acknowledge former president of the NRA, Marion Hammer, the executive director of United Sportsmen of Florida, who was very helpful in this effort. SB 1732 is "a bill...providing legislative intent to preempt the regulation of knives and weapons to the Legislature." You can review the bill here: www.kniferights.org/SB-1732_Knife-Preemption_Altman.pdf
This bill builds upon the success of last year's revised Florida firearms preemption law that provided for painful penalties to political jurisdictions that were previously ignoring the existing firearms preemption law. Our Knife and Weapons Preemption bill voids local laws and regulations and includes these same severe penalties if local jurisdiction were inclined to ignore this expansion of state preemption to cover knives. This puts real teeth into this bill, ensuring "the repeal of rules, ordinances, and regulations prohibited by the [new] section [of law]."
Two encompassing definitions are provided in the bill for "common pocketknife" and "knife" that are otherwise referenced in Florida law without constructive definitions. A "common pocketknife" is defined as "any knife that can be carried in a pocket, purse, handbag, backpack, briefcase, or sheath, or similar container." "Knife" is defined as "a cutting instrument that includes a sharpened or pointed blade, including a sheath knife commonly used for fishing, hunting, outdoor recreation, or work activities."
We are working diligently to get a companion bill filed in the Florida House of Representatives, which is generally required to assure passage. We will keep you posted.
It is interesting to note that Florida Carry and former NRA President Marion Hammer are assisting in their efforts. It is encouraging to see primarily gun groups working with knife groups to broaden protection across the board for the Second Amendment. This is the equivalent of hunting groups working with fishing groups to protect both game and fish from the PETAfiles.
Marion Hammer is also the head of an organization called Unified Sportsmen of Florida which seeks to bring all of those various groups together for common cause. Strength in numbers and unity is one of the lessons that all of us rugged individualists that want to just be left the h*ll alone need to learn from the Nannies who want to control our lives.
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