Story by Joshua Swanagon, Images and Graphics by KnifeRights.org
As I sit and ponder the 4th of July and the freedoms provided to us by our founding fathers, I can’t help but also realize that some of those freedoms have eroded over the years. Of course, it was bound to happen. Any time you put a large group of people together under the banner of freedom, there will be those that will take advantage of those freedoms. However, is it right that everyone should be punished for the malfeasance of the few?
Fortunately, we do have organizations that fight for law-abiding citizens and do everything in their power to ensure that our freedoms and liberty are preserved. It seems that those in the gun world receive constant attention, and we are thankful for them. But I think it is time to shed some light on the unsung heroes of the knife world, fighting for common sense knife rights.
Founded by Doug Ritter, KnifeRights.org is pulling up on their 12th year of successfully fighting for knife rights throughout the country, even in some of the most draconian jurisdictions. Over the years KnifeRights.org has passed 33 pro-knife bills in 23 states and stopped 9 anti-knife bills. For a map and complete list of their accomplishments click here, it is highly likely you will see legislation they were a part of in your state, that you have been enjoying all along.
As a knife lover, you may have noticed that automatic knives are starting to become a lot more prevalent throughout the knife industry. You can thank KnifeRights.org for that. Their cross-country battle against the Federal Switchblade Act has helped to legalize automatic knives throughout the country and they continue to fight it to this day in holdout states.
From KnifeRights.org:
“July 25, 2016: Knife Rights was born ten years ago today after I read an outrageous and highly inflammatory article headlining the Wall Street Journal, entitled “How New, Deadly Pocketknives Became a $1 Billion Business” demonizing so-called “tactical knives.” A discredit to the Journal, the overwrought and sensationalist article was filled with distortions, misrepresentations, innuendo, outright lies and cherry-picked quotes pushing a transparent rabid anti-weapon and anti-freedom agenda. But, the story didn’t quite spark the anti-knife response the reporter probably hoped for — in fact, it had precisely the opposite effect.
One wonders what the editors were thinking when they chose to illustrate that fateful article…”
Read the entire article here >>
It is not enough for KnifeRights.org to fight for your rights, you have to know what they are. Fortunately, KnifeRights.org has created a free app called Legal Blade 2.0 that allows you to check the knife laws in your state. It is free to download and use, and is a very helpful guide—especially when traveling. I have personally used it on many occasions while traveling across the US, so I knew what to expect in each state.
Download it today and avoid legal issues tomorrow.
Fighting for our freedoms is not cheap and they need our help to keep fighting on the front lines, against lawmakers that don’t think you should be able to own a knife of any kind. There are a couple of different ways you can help ensure that they are able to keep taking the fight to states that have unreasonable knife laws; yours might even be one of those states.
Signing up for a yearly membership is a great way to help them keep going strong. There are many different membership levels, so there is something for everyone. Everything from $32 a year to $850 a year, each with its own level of thank you package.
The next is the Ultimate Steel Spectacular. The Ultimate Steel Spectacular allows you to either donate a certain set amount and receive the thank you gift for that gift level or you can purchase an entry into their giveaway and win your choice from the donation knives or guns (which are incredible).
These opportunities give us the chance to let them know that we are fighting for them as they fight for us. It is our way of saying “thank you!”
Membership: https://kniferights.org/membership/
Ultimate Steel: https://kniferights.org/ultimatesteel/2021-ultimate-steel/
Joshua Swanagon has studied survival in both urban and wilderness environments in Colorado and Michigan for most of his life, while also adding experience in harsher terrains abroad. He utilizes his experience and years of diverse martial arts and combatives training and real world application as a self-defense/combatives instructor, published freelance writer and Field Editor for various magazines in the fields of knives, survival, self-defense and tactical subject matters. Joshua also brings with him his years of experience as Editor of, and Subject Matter Expert for, Knives Illustrated Magazine.
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