URGENT ACTION ALERT: Write your Senators NOW!

[Critter]

URGENT ACTION ALERT: Write your Senators NOW to STOP funding for Customs' Pocket Knife Grab.

Knife Rights News Slice Vol. 2 Number 11

Write your Senators NOW to STOP funding for Customs' Pocket Knife Grab. As you are aware, Customs is proposing to prohibit the import of assisted and one-hand openers and in the process has broadly re-defined what a Switchblade is to cover almost all pocket knives, with potential far-reaching consequences. Our best bet to stop Customs in the short term is for Congress to prevent them from spending a dime to implement their proposed ruling. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Bill will be taken up by the Senate on Tuesday, July 7th. We need your help NOW to rally support for an amendment to stop funding for this Customs rulemaking.

Timing has not worked in our favor as D.C. has become a ghost town due to the July 4th recess. We will have two days to make this work upon their return. Your emails to Senate offices will get their attention and be a huge help as our lobbyists and legislative representatives work Monday and Tuesday to get an amendment introduced and voted into the DHS Appropriations Bill. Contacting Senator Patty Murray [D-WA] and Senator George Voinovich [R-OH] is particularly important because they are ranking members on the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Still, contacting your own Senators is also very important and their support is needed as well.

Pass this Action Alert to everyone you know and urge them to ACT NOW! Post on every online forum and social networking site you can. We need to generate thousands of emails before next Monday. If you have a personal relationship with any Senators or their staff, now is the time to call (well, maybe Monday since nobody is in the office now). Personally know a radio or TV talk show host? Please have them contact me (http://bit.ly/vo1uA ) so we can reach out to a wider audience. Help save our Knife Rights; STOP this ridiculous and illegitimate rulemaking by Customs. WRITE TODAY!

Please note that multiple members of a household can and should each write separately.

We encourage you to use the two sample letters below and copy and paste into the email forms. If you want to further personalize your letter, please be POLITE and NON-PARTISAN. The "enemy" is Customs, not the Administration. We can only succeed with the support of both parties. DO NOT yell, don't rant and don't be rude! Stay focused and stay on message. This is NOT the time or place to express your frustrations or make any other political points or complaints.

Just four simple emails can make a BIG difference!

NOTE that there are TWO different letters, one for Senators Murray and Voinovich and one for your own two Senators (unless Murray or Voinovich happens to be your own Senator):

Email forms for Senators Murray and Voinovich can be found here:

Senator Murray: http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
Senator Voinovich: http://tinyurl.com/2rpu4p

1. Sample Letter for Senators Murray and Voinovich:

RE: U.S. Customs & Border Protection Proposed Revocation of Ruling Letters and Revocation of Treatment Relating to the Admissibilty [sic] of Certain Knives with Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms

Dear Senator [Murray or Voinovich, as appropriate],

As a pocket knife owner, I am extremely concerned about the recently announced Customs ruling, which wrongly interprets federal law and would prohibit the importation of many of the sporting and utility knives that I use and enjoy. Their overly broad and novel new interpretation of what a Switchblade is could make me a felon for carrying a simple pocket knife. Additionally, the economic impact of the ruling on the knife trade would be severe. Pocket knives utilizing assisted or one hand opening technology are the dominant share of the market, and prohibiting the use of the technology would force significant job losses, and the potential loss of entire businesses.

This type of Federal regulation is totally unnecessary, and I strongly urge you to work with representatives from Knife Rights and other and advocacy organizations on an appropriate restriction to prevent Customs from implementing this ruling.

Knife Rights and other advocacy organizations will be contacting your office to discuss with you concrete ways to prevent Customs from acting on their intention to reclassify sport/utility knives as switchblades.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Individual Signature]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2. Locate YOUR OWN Senators and their email forms here:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...nators_cfm.cfm

Sample Letter to YOUR Senators:

RE: U.S. Customs & Border Protection Proposed Revocation of Ruling Letters and Revocation of Treatment Relating to the Admissibilty [sic] of Certain Knives with Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms

Dear Senator [Insert Senator’s Name],

As a pocket knife owner, I am extremely concerned about the recently announced Customs ruling, which wrongly interprets federal law and would prohibit the importation of many of the sporting and utility knives that I use and enjoy. Their overly broad and novel new interpretation of what a Switchblade is could make me a felon for carrying a simple pocket knife. Additionally, the economic impact of the ruling on the knife trade would be severe. Pocket knives utilizing assisted or one hand opening technology are the dominant share of the market, and prohibiting the use of the technology would force significant job losses, and the potential loss of entire businesses.

This type of Federal regulation is totally unnecessary, and I strongly urge you to support efforts by Knife Rights and other advocacy organizations to prevent Customs from acting on their intention to reclassify sport/utility knives as switchblades.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Individual Signature]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Be a Knife Rights Spokesperson on the 4th!

Attending a July 4th party or celebration over this holiday weekend? Talk to everyone you meet. Ask them to write their Senators and Representatives. Send them to Knife Rights for more information and the sample letter. YOU can make a difference in this fight. Speak up and be heard.

It's worth noting that virtually every Member of Congress heads home for the July 4th holiday, in large part to attend celebrations and meet with their constituents. If you happen to run into one of your Senators or Representative at a July 4th event, please take a moment to ask them to help stop funding for Customs' Pocket Knife Grab. Be polite, non-partisan and sincere, and if they tell you it's nothing to worry about, suggest to them that they are being bamboozled by Customs and to take a closer look. Nothing beats a personal, one on one, request for action. All the facts are available in our Comments submitted to Customs: http://bit.ly/1NqNYi

NEW: Show Off Your Support for Knife Rights

Celebrate Independence Weekend by supporting this fight for our freedoms with a "STOP U.S. Customs' Pocket Knife Grab" t-shirt, mug or any of the other clothing or accessories from the new Knife Rights Online Marketplace on Cafe Press: http://www.cafepress.com/KnifeRights 100% of the profits go to support this fight.

If you are graphically talented, please submit your own design and/or slogan for possible use on a shirt, etc. Designs must be in good taste and be 10x10 in., 300 dpi, JPG or PNG format. All designs submitted become the property of Knife Rights, Inc. Email to: customs@KnifeRights.com

Knife Rights on Twitter

Follow Knife Rights on Twitter and receive the latest updates and notices as soon as they occur:

http://twitter.com/KnifeRights

Join or Donate to Knife Rights

Your membership dues help support our efforts to protect your rights. Invest a modest sum in A Sharper Future™. Join at the Benefactor level to help us even more.

JOIN NOW! http://tinyurl.com/qnu988

PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT THIS FIGHT FOR YOUR KNIFE RIGHTS!

We need your help: http://bit.ly/Scvp9

Copyright 2009, Knife Rights, Inc.
This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.


Doug Ritter
Chairman and Executive Director
Knife Rights, Inc.
a 501(c)(4) Member Organization
dritter@KnifeRights.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/KnifeRights

[markksr]

Emails sent to my Senators.

[ddavelarsen]

Sent email to both Senators Murray and Voinovich, and to my Iowa Senators Grassley and Harkin. Thanks to everyone for their support!

[einstein]

I couldn't care less. Stop harrassing international members with your local problems.

[nu3gawhat]

Apparently, you cared enough to make it your first post.

[orthogonal1]

Emails off, hope in the air.

[ddavelarsen]

Originally Posted by einstein

I couldn't care less. Stop harrassing international members with your local problems.

Who brought this to your door? Move on, find a life.

[desmobob]

Four e-mails sent. It took probably three minutes, thanks to Spark's links. Everyone needs to get it done!


Stay sharp,
desmobob

[Frank_Zuccarini]

Took me a bit longer than 3 minutes, but I got it done. Thanks for your help.

Also, someone may want to point out what "topic" should be selected from the drop-down menu. None was obvious to me.

Again, thanks................Frank

[Frankki]

A bit harsh to call the emails from Spark harassing. Especially as it takes less time to go to the user control panel and un-check the option that such email can be sent than type a reply of disapproval. This is a big deal for those who are in the U.S. and I fully understand the need to reach as great an audience as possible.

Can't write to any Senators and don't have any relatives in the States that could, but good luck and best wishes nonetheless.

[mndart]

eMail sent to home state Senator V ( one of a few) as well as all members of the house and senate members of the Homeland Security Committees.

Originally Posted by einstein Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 1 ...

I couldn't care less. Stop harrassing international members with your local problems.

Look at the bright side....... Don't say you were not informed. This does apply to you. If you are lurking here mister one-post, you may well be engaged in buy-sell-trade activities. Now you will understand why your 2" bladed manual thumbstud opening knife has been confiscated by Homeland Security's customs bureau and you've now landed on a watch list; or that no one in USA will buy or trade with you any longer because the customs agents will now be owning the knife you are sending to your US buyer or trader.

[desmobob]

Originally Posted by Frank_Zuccarini

Also, someone may want to point out what "topic" should be selected from the drop-down menu. None was obvious to me.

It's a Department of Homeland Security bill, so I chose "Homeland Security" from the drop-downs.


Stay sharp,
desmobob

[mndart]

Originally Posted by desmobob

It's a Department of Homeland Security bill, so I chose "Homeland Security" from the drop-downs.


Stay sharp,
desmobob

Not all of them have this. I did not see this as a specific choice on Voinavich's site.

[ddavelarsen]

Originally Posted by desmobob

It's a Department of Homeland Security bill, so I chose "Homeland Security" from the drop-downs.


Stay sharp,
desmobob

That's what I did too. Where "Homeland Security" wasn't an option I chose "Appropriations," and then asked them to block the money for this change.

[longhotsummer]

I empathise, but it is 10 x worse in UK. Here, our national Trading Standards is moving to completely ban the sale of all knives over the internet! eBay Europe has already banned the sale of all knives (except cutlery) from its UK and RoI sites. eBid has done the same. Amazon has banned the sale of all knives except cutlery and penknives from its UK site.

I am the sole supplier worldwide of the Wilkinson Sword Dartmoor Survival Knife CSK185. It is a piece of British manufacturing history, and highly collectible. In one fell swoop, eBay and Amazon have denied me – and many other UK-based responsible Sellers of survival knives – our living. If our Government has its way, we will have nil online outlets to market our knives.

[mccullen]

Sent e-mails to my senator and reps. I will do anything that I can.

[Seporith]

2 sent in 3min. Thanks for the heads up! Anthony

[OldDude1]

Letter to CBP mailed two weeks ago. Letters to Senators and Rep. faxed two weeks ago. E-mails sent to them all two weeks ago. Updated E-mails sent to Senators and Rep. again yesterday. Made donation to Knife Rights ten minutes ago. OldDude1

"You are not to inquire how your trade may be increased nor how you are to become a great and powerful people but how your liberties may be secured, for liberty ought to be the direct end of your government." - Patrick Henry

[jasonp]

Sent one to both listed and both of my state senators...I urge everyone to call and voice their opinions as well. Having worked heavily with Senators and Reps, I can tell you that all most of them do when they receive an email is to quickly scan over it and log a "for" or "against". I'll be calling next week. Do it now folks before its too late...our rights are being stripped away one little thing at a time.

[rickacp]

Did exactly as suggested!!! Lets save our knives.