Beyond This Article
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On July 8, 10 U.S. Senators proposed an amendment to the 1958 U.S. Switchblade Act. Two days later, their colleagues voted unanimously to approve it.
 
The measure, developed in conjunction with knife advocacy groups, would make an exception for assisted opening knives. If passed, U.S. Customs would not be able to reclassify assisted opening knives as illegal switchblades.

Click here to read that amendment, courtesy of Knife Rights.

Explaining the Amendment

Reading the amendment won't make sense unless it's put into context of the 1958 U.S. Switchblade Act. The act currently defines exceptions to the Switchblade Act this way:

Sections 1242 and 1243 of this title shall not apply to -
       (1) any common carrier or contract carrier, with respect to any
     switchblade knife shipped, transported, or delivered for shipment
     in interstate commerce in the ordinary course of business;
       (2) the manufacture, sale, transportation, distribution,
     possession, or introduction into interstate commerce, of
     switchblade knives pursuant to contract with the Armed Forces;
       (3) the Armed Forces or any member or employee thereof acting
     in the performance of his duty; or
       (4) the possession, and transportation upon his person, of any
     switchblade knife with a blade three inches or less in length by
     any individual who has only one arm.

If the amendment is passed, the law would read this way:

Sections 1242 and 1243 of this title shall not apply to -
       (1) any common carrier or contract carrier, with respect to any
     switchblade knife shipped, transported, or delivered for shipment
     in interstate commerce in the ordinary course of business;
       (2) the manufacture, sale, transportation, distribution,
     possession, or introduction into interstate commerce, of
     switchblade knives pursuant to contract with the Armed Forces;
       (3) the Armed Forces or any member or employee thereof acting
     in the performance of his duty;
       (4) the possession, and transportation upon his person, of any
     switchblade knife with a blade three inches or less in length by
     any individual who has only one arm; or
       (5) a knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism
       designed to create a bias toward closure of the blade and that
       requires exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist, or arm to
       overcome the bias toward closure to assist in opening the knife.

Analysis

The BLADE analysis of this amendment shows this would cover most assisted openers. Yes, most assisted openers. There's an element of subjectivity about this amendment.

What exactly is an "other mechanism?" Does your knife have an "other mechanism?" The person who is going to make that call will be a government attorney or law enforcement officer. Not you.

So while this amendment is good, it can never be great. Knife technology changes year-to-year. The definition of an "other mechanism" will also change year-to-year. Once this Customs debacle passes, expect more authoritarian challenges in the future.

Operation Switch Hunt members shouldn't lose heart. No doubt this proposal wouldn't have come to frutition had the edgencia not made such a stink. Encourage fellow knife owners to join the fight. Continue pressing the antis. Point those on the fence to this article and the others exploring this topic.