From the horse's mouth:
HON. KENNETH B. KEATING OF NEW YORK IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, January 8, 1958
Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced a bill to prohibit the interstate commerce in stilettos and switchblade and gravity knives. This is one important way in which the Federal Government can help localities combat juvenile delinquency.
Under terms of the bill, the knowing manufacture, importation, or transportation of stilettos or switchblade or gravity knives would be punishable by fines of not more than $2,000 or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. The sale or offer for sale of such knives with the knowledge they were carried in interstate commerce or imported from a foreign country would subject the seller to a fine of not more than $1,000. or imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both. In the case of sales or offers to youths under 18, the penalty would be not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.
Specifically exempted under this bill would be common carriers and freight forwarders who inadvertently ship such knives and those who deal with such articles in connection with their use by the Armed Forces.
The recent rash of teenage crimes and violence in various sections of the country emphasizes once again the magnitude of the challenge of juvenile delinquency. Increasingly, we hear demands that the Federal Government should take a more active role in coping with these problems.
Unfortunately, there are few areas in which the National Government can legitimately assist local groups in combating youthful terrorism. However, by helping to curb the sale and availability of the stiletto and switchblade and gravity knife-through the proper exercise of its power over interstate commerce-- the Government can play a decisive role in depriving teenage hoodlums of their favorite weapon.
Statistics indicate that in the last 5 years, 5 million of these insidious tools have been sold in this country. Their cheap price-95 cents to $1.29-brlngs them readily within the buying range of our younger people, and as a result they have become standard equipment with teenage gangs.
When you consider that 43 percent of the total robberies in the United States last year were by people under 21 years of age, or that last year in New York City 40 percent of the felonious assaults were perpetrated by those under 16, the importance of juvenile crime cannot be discounted. In many of these cases, the switchblade or gravity knife was the chief weapon.
These lethal, vicious weapons can be concealed in the palm of the hand and then, by pressing a button or by a quick flick of the wrist, the blade can be suddenly extended toward the victim. There are practically no useful purposes for the switchblade or gravity knife-- and none whatsoever for the deadly stiletto which has no cutting edge, only a sharp, dangerous point. Clearly, the few useful purposes for these articles are insignificant compared to the obvious criminal use to which they are put in most cases. Their presence should be stamped off the face of our Nation as soon as possible.
It is true that 12 States, including New York, have enacted laws in an attempt to curb the sale and possession of these weapons. Already Congress has banned them in the District of Columbia. But through nuances in design and by advertising and sale through the mails, these local laws are today being effectively circumvented. When local laws cannot effectively cope with a problem, the Federal Government is required to take up the slack. By vigorous application of the powers granted by this bill, the Federal power over interstate commerce can end this influx of stilettos and switchblade and gravity knives.
This proposal has the strong approval of local law enforcement officials all over the country who are, after all, in the best position to evaluate the need.
By prohibiting the interstate transportation and sale of stilettos and switchblade and gravity knives, we will at least be depriving teenage gangs of their favorite weapon. Though this is by no means an answer to the deep challenges of juvenile delinquency, it is one way in which the effectiveness of youthful terrorists can be blunted.
I hope Congress will give speedy consideration to this measure.