Vital Georgia Knife Law Preemption Bill Signed
With encouragement from your phone calls, emails and letters, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed the single most important bill for knife owners and the knife industry to pass this year. With his signature, Knife Rights' drafted SB432 establishes knife law preemption in Georgia, effectively repealing draconian restrictions on knife ownership, sales and manufacturing in cities like Atlanta, home of BLADE Show, the world's largest knife show.
For years the BLADE Show has literally been operating on the "knife's edge"of the law because even though it takes place in Cobb County, where there are very few restrictions on knives, right across the street in the city of Atlanta, where many BLADE Show attendees go to eat, sleep and recreate, there are onerous laws against knives and knife owners.
These local ordinances banned the possession of all sorts of knives readily available and often carried at the BLADE Show including a prohibition against carry of any automatic or any knife with a blade longer than three-inches "readily available for use." An attendee or exhibitor could easily have run afoul of these ordinances and faced fines and jail time. The potential existed to create terrible publicity that could have jeopardized the knife world's most important annual show! With the signing of Knife Rights drafted Knife Law Preemption bill, those threats are now eliminated.
Our thanks to the members and supporters of Knife Rights who made their support known to the legislature and governor and to the bill sponsors, Georgia Senator Bill Heath and Georgia Representative David Knight. Also, a special thank you to Governor Nathan Deal for signing this important legislation.
Having said all that, one word of caution! Please note that this new Knife Preemption Law does not go into effect until July 1, 2012, so BLADE Show attendees should remain cautious this year as the old laws remain in effect until July 1st.
A law of this importance doesn't just pass itself. Knife Rights' Director of Legislative Affairs, Todd Rathner, worked very hard from well before this year's legislative session started in order to pass this bill and get it signed. In the end, he had to spend an entire week in Atlanta in order to shepherd this bill through the final days of the legislature. This is the dedication and effort that Knife Rights brings to our efforts to ensure a Sharper Future for all Americans. No organization works harder to protect your rights.
In order to help us pay for this national effort to reform knife laws and possibly win some great prizes please go to: www.kniferights.org and enter our huge raffle!!!!
With encouragement from your phone calls, emails and letters, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed the single most important bill for knife owners and the knife industry to pass this year. With his signature, Knife Rights' drafted SB432 establishes knife law preemption in Georgia, effectively repealing draconian restrictions on knife ownership, sales and manufacturing in cities like Atlanta, home of BLADE Show, the world's largest knife show.
For years the BLADE Show has literally been operating on the "knife's edge"of the law because even though it takes place in Cobb County, where there are very few restrictions on knives, right across the street in the city of Atlanta, where many BLADE Show attendees go to eat, sleep and recreate, there are onerous laws against knives and knife owners.
These local ordinances banned the possession of all sorts of knives readily available and often carried at the BLADE Show including a prohibition against carry of any automatic or any knife with a blade longer than three-inches "readily available for use." An attendee or exhibitor could easily have run afoul of these ordinances and faced fines and jail time. The potential existed to create terrible publicity that could have jeopardized the knife world's most important annual show! With the signing of Knife Rights drafted Knife Law Preemption bill, those threats are now eliminated.
Our thanks to the members and supporters of Knife Rights who made their support known to the legislature and governor and to the bill sponsors, Georgia Senator Bill Heath and Georgia Representative David Knight. Also, a special thank you to Governor Nathan Deal for signing this important legislation.
Having said all that, one word of caution! Please note that this new Knife Preemption Law does not go into effect until July 1, 2012, so BLADE Show attendees should remain cautious this year as the old laws remain in effect until July 1st.
A law of this importance doesn't just pass itself. Knife Rights' Director of Legislative Affairs, Todd Rathner, worked very hard from well before this year's legislative session started in order to pass this bill and get it signed. In the end, he had to spend an entire week in Atlanta in order to shepherd this bill through the final days of the legislature. This is the dedication and effort that Knife Rights brings to our efforts to ensure a Sharper Future for all Americans. No organization works harder to protect your rights.
In order to help us pay for this national effort to reform knife laws and possibly win some great prizes please go to: www.kniferights.org and enter our huge raffle!!!!
