Hello all
Let me start by saying Jim and his group did a great job under very stressful circumstances. It was odd that even though we share so many of the same views, we are at odds to the tactics required. The law (SB 274) is written well and needs no additional tweaking. Jim's testimony did inspire an additional action of clarifying legislative intent that we will all be the better for and I would not have pushed for had he not testified before the assembly committee.
SB 274 passed unanimously in the committe, will fly through fiscal committee (has no impact) and will sail through senate to be signed by Gov. Davis hopefully by the end of July.
In a discussion following the assembly committee hearing in Senator Karnette's office we discussed her authoring a letter that will be added into the congressional daily journal. This is where I was told folks would go to get any back-up for what the intent of the legislation did. This letter would clarify why fairly easy action is required for onehanders and how one handers were not the target here.
I would appreciate any feedback fairly quickly so I can give to the lobbiest tomorrow who is writing this letter for the senator.
LETTER TO THE SENATE DAILY JOURNAL
July 5, 2001
Mr. Gregory Schmidt
Secretary of the Senate
State Capitol, Room
Dear Greg:
The purpose of this letter is to express the Legislatures intent in enacting my SB 274, which makes amendments to Penal Code Section 653k.
Section 653k makes it a misdemeanor to possess a switchblade in California. The statute was enacted in 1957 and provides a length definition of a switchblade knife. In 1996, AB 3314 (Ch. 1054) an exemption was created for one-handed folding knives. Recently, there has been concern that the language of the exemption is broadly read to apply to knives that are essentially switchblades, but are designed to fall under the language of the exemption.
In order to ensure that only legitimate one-handed opening knives are covered, SB 274 narrows the language to only allow knives to fall under the exemption from the switchblade law if that one-handed opening knife contains a detent or similar mechanism. Such mechanisms ensure there is a measure of resistance (no matter how slight) that prevents the knife from being too easily opened with a flick of the wrist.
Although some one-handed opening knives can be opened with a strong flick of the wrist, so long as they contain a detent or similar mechanism that provides some resistance to opening the knife, then the exemption is triggered. These knives serve an important utility to many knife users. For example, firefighters, EMT personnel, hunters, fishermen, and others utilize one-handed opening knives. (i have asked him to include some mention of everyday carry here)
The exemption created in 1996 was designed to decriminalize the legitimate use of these extremely functional tools by law-abiding citizens. SB 274 is not intended to interfere with those knife owners and users. The amendments to Section 653k accomplish this important purpose by establishing more objective criteria for determining whether a knife meets the intended exemption to the switchblade law.
Sincerely,
BETTY KARNETTE
Senator, 27th District
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CJ Buck
Buck Knives, Inc.
AKTI Member #PR00003