AKTI sellout?

[FrozenTurtle]

I have heard some people call the AKTI a sellout. What did they do?

 

[SpySmasher]

It has to do with the Knife bill they are sponsoring in congress. Many (some?) people feel that it doesn't go far enough or may even be harmful to knife owners because it may confuse people. Furthermore, it is "competing" with a Knife Rights-supported bill which goes farther in protecting knife rights.

I agree with the complaints but to say they are "selling out" is a bit much. Who are they supposed to be selling out to?

 

[marcinek]

And where did you hear that, and who said it, and what did they say?

I mean...really.

 

[hso]

I'm a member of both AKTI and Knife Rights. I do think the AKTI legislation has all the flaws of the original Firearms Owner Protection Act firearms legislation without the fixes the firearms community has been aware of. I'm not sure why AKTI is being accused of being a "sellout" unless not including doing away with the switchblade federal laws is the reason. The Knife Rights legislation avoids the faux pas of FOPA and attacks the federal switchblade laws as well.

It is always useful to see the legislation that the discussions are about.

Here's the link to the Knife Rights bill introduced at the first of the year.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/84

Here's the link to the AKTI Senate bill just introduced. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1092/cosponsors


Here's a summary similar to others I've read in the firearms community and elsewhere.

https://www.ammoland.com/2017/05/pr...erent-in-competing-knife-bills/#axzz4i1WDt7H6

Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2017/05/pr...erent-in-competing-knife-bills/#ixzz4ihOY4epD
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
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(Ammoland.com)- Two knife owner protection bills are making their way through Congress, one backed by an industry group and the other backed by an owners’ advocacy group. An analysis of the bills shows that although they share similar purposes, they offer vastly different protections, making it evident that changes will be needed to gain acceptance by both interests.

H.R. 84, the Knife Owners Protection Act (KOPA), introduced in January by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5), is currently in the House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce Committees. With four cosponsors at this writing (all Republicans), the stated purpose of the bill is:

To protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport knives interstate, notwithstanding a patchwork of local and State prohibitions, and to repeal Federal provisions related to switchblade knives which burden citizens.


The Senate bill is being backed by the American Knife & Tool Institute, “a non-profit organization … representing all segments of the knife industry and all knife users.” The House Bill was authored by Knife Rights, a grassroots membership group that “can count 32 legislative victories in 21 states, plus Congress, and is standing up to the largest city in America in our Federal Civil Rights lawsuit against New York City.”

“The bill will ensure federal protection for lawful knife owners traveling through the current patchwork of state and local knife laws,” AKTI claims. “It is the continuation of an effort AKTI has lead for many years in an effort to better protect lawful knife owners traveling across the country.”

Perhaps. But KOPA was specifically written to address flaws found in the Firearms Owners Protection Act (FOPA) that can actually result in increased prosecutions in states like New Jersey and New York, and the Enzi bill appears to have adopted essentially identical language as the flawed FOPA. In essence, a false sense of security could be created for citizens not realizing the transportation provisions don’t apply to knives otherwise deemed illegal in such jurisdictions.

“Knife Rights congratulates Senator Mike Enzi on the introduction of S. 1092, the Interstate Transport Act,” Chairman Doug Ritter responded to the introduction of the bill. “We note that H.R. 84, the Knife Owners' Protection Act, introduced by Representative Andy Biggs at the request of Knife Rights, provides knife owners more robust protections while traveling with knives. It also includes repeal of the Federal Switchblade Act.