American Knife & Tool Institute Applauds House Judiciary Committee Passage of Legislation to Repeal Colorado’s Automatic Knife Prohibition
March 3, 2017 – Cody, WY – The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) today announced the House Judiciary Committee’s passage of Colorado SB 17-008, legislation to repeal the prohibition of automatic and gravity knives within the state, by a vote of 10-1. The bill now moves to the Committee of the Whole for a final vote. The bill removes gravity and automatic knives (referred to in the legislation as switchblade) from the definition of illegal weapons under the Colorado Revised Statues. The bill’s sponsors, Sen. Owen Hill, R-10, and Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-34, contacted AKTI for assistance with drafting the legislation and securing its passage.
“Ensuring that the laws of our state protects the rights of Coloradans using knives and edged tools for daily, professional, and recreational use is one of the most important things our legislature can do,” said Senator Hill. “It has been a pleasure working with Rep. Lebsock on SB 17-008, which will allow outdoorsmen and tradesmen alike to use their automatic knives without fear of inadvertently breaking the law. We’re thrilled to see it pass the full Senate and now the House Judiciary Committee, and urge all members of the Colorado House of Representatives to pass SB 17-008.”
AKTI is a non-profit 501(c)6 organization that represents all segments of the knife industry and knife users, promoting reasonable and responsible knife legislation and enforcement. We believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to carry their essential and valuable tools without the fear of arbitrary, inconsistent and ineffective government restrictions.
“We are extremely pleased to announce that the Colorado House Judiciary Committee passed SB 17-008 with such a wide margin,” said AKTI’s Executive Director, Jan Billeb.
“AKTI believes that Colorado’s burdensome prohibitions restrict Coloradans from possessing critical tools that are used by tradesmen, hunters, veterans, and all citizens as a part of their daily life. AKTI thanks Senator Hill and Representative Lebsock for their leadership on the issue, and our member John Bloodgood for his excellent testimony in support of the legislation.”
“As a 23 year combat veteran, and as law-abiding Coloradan, I was honored to work with the American Knife & Tool Institute, as well as Representative Lebsock, to further SB 17-008,” said John Bloodgood, an AKTI member who testified in support of the bill. “Repealing the prohibition on automatic knives in Colorado is critical. I had to give back most of my gear and equipment when I retired from the Air Force, including any weapons the federal government deemed dangerous and illegal. Since automatic knives are not illegal to possess under federal law, I was permitted to keep and use my automatic knife. However, the state of Colorado decided otherwise and deemed me a criminal if I kept my automatic knife. It’s time for Colorado to get rid of this superfluous law and allow law-abiding citizens to carry their automatic knives.”
More About AKTI
The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) is a non-profit organization (501(c)6) representing all segments of the knife industry and all knife users. Formed in true grassroots fashion by concerned industry leaders after considerable discussion with individual knifemakers, knife magazine publishers, and a broad section of the knife community, AKTI has been the reasonable and responsible voice of the knife community since 1998. AKTI’s mission is to ensure that Americans will always be able to make, buy, sell, own, carry and use knives and edged tools. To learn more, please visit www.akti.org.
