The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) filed companion bills in the Texas Senate and House on
March 13, 2009. See AKTI Texas Bills.
AKTI took this action to rescue more than 11 million law-abiding knife owners from possible unfair,
arbitrary and discretionary arrest for carrying knives they have been using for decades for hunting, fishing
and on the job. Our bills will also clarify the situation for prosecutors and law enforcement.
An appellate court case in the San Antonio district in late 2007 wrongly interpreted, AKTI contends, the
current language in the Texas statutes on knife possession. Specifically, the case broadly and incorrectly
applied language in the switchblade statute in such a way that all folding knives could be considered
illegal to possess and carry in the state.
One-hand openers and assisted-openers are not switchblades under current Texas law, AKTI contends.
Neither type of knife opens by releasing a button on the handle. They both have a bias toward closure and
a detent in the handle. AKTI’s new bill language very clearly makes that distinction.
Since Texas was named the #1 state in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 2006 National Survey of Fishing,
Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, any statute that broadly limits knife possession in the state
could easily target millions of hunters and fishers. The FWS Survey indicates that Texas received $6.228
Billion in economic impact from those groups in 2006. Since the majority of hunters and fishers carry
knives to skin game and fillet fish, residents and non-residents who pursue those activities with a knife in
their possession would become de facto criminals if the Texas knife statute is not clarified.
The threat of arrest, confiscation and prosecution for a knife offense is so serious that sportsmen with
discretionary dollars could forsake Texas as a destination. And millions of Texans who use knives on the
job every day are put at risk. So are millions of other legitimate, law-abiding knife owners who use them
when camping, hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, or working in the rose garden.
Lives are actually put at risk without the clarification that the AKTI bills provide because police officers,
firemen, EMTs and first responders would be denied use of knives that can be operated with one hand. If
you’re prying the metal wreckage of a car frame off an accident victim, you may only have one hand
available to cut the seat belt and free the victim before fire engulfs the scene.
AKTI recognizes this risk to an estimated 11 million people in the state and visitors who use and carry
knives on a daily basis.
AKTI hired Mark Seale of the Texas Advocacy Group in October 2008 to present our suggested
clarifications to the Texas Legislature in 2009.
We urge you to become an AKTI Grassroots Supporter. There is no charge to become a Grassroots
Supporter. We simply ask for your name and email address so we can provide the most up-to-date
information possible.
Read more on how this effort was started
AKTI Introduced Bills
March 13, 2009. See AKTI Texas Bills.
AKTI took this action to rescue more than 11 million law-abiding knife owners from possible unfair,
arbitrary and discretionary arrest for carrying knives they have been using for decades for hunting, fishing
and on the job. Our bills will also clarify the situation for prosecutors and law enforcement.
An appellate court case in the San Antonio district in late 2007 wrongly interpreted, AKTI contends, the
current language in the Texas statutes on knife possession. Specifically, the case broadly and incorrectly
applied language in the switchblade statute in such a way that all folding knives could be considered
illegal to possess and carry in the state.
One-hand openers and assisted-openers are not switchblades under current Texas law, AKTI contends.
Neither type of knife opens by releasing a button on the handle. They both have a bias toward closure and
a detent in the handle. AKTI’s new bill language very clearly makes that distinction.
Since Texas was named the #1 state in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 2006 National Survey of Fishing,
Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, any statute that broadly limits knife possession in the state
could easily target millions of hunters and fishers. The FWS Survey indicates that Texas received $6.228
Billion in economic impact from those groups in 2006. Since the majority of hunters and fishers carry
knives to skin game and fillet fish, residents and non-residents who pursue those activities with a knife in
their possession would become de facto criminals if the Texas knife statute is not clarified.
The threat of arrest, confiscation and prosecution for a knife offense is so serious that sportsmen with
discretionary dollars could forsake Texas as a destination. And millions of Texans who use knives on the
job every day are put at risk. So are millions of other legitimate, law-abiding knife owners who use them
when camping, hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, or working in the rose garden.
Lives are actually put at risk without the clarification that the AKTI bills provide because police officers,
firemen, EMTs and first responders would be denied use of knives that can be operated with one hand. If
you’re prying the metal wreckage of a car frame off an accident victim, you may only have one hand
available to cut the seat belt and free the victim before fire engulfs the scene.
AKTI recognizes this risk to an estimated 11 million people in the state and visitors who use and carry
knives on a daily basis.
AKTI hired Mark Seale of the Texas Advocacy Group in October 2008 to present our suggested
clarifications to the Texas Legislature in 2009.
We urge you to become an AKTI Grassroots Supporter. There is no charge to become a Grassroots
Supporter. We simply ask for your name and email address so we can provide the most up-to-date
information possible.
Read more on how this effort was started
AKTI Introduced Bills
 |  |  |  |  |  |
American Knife & Tool Institute
| AKTI Files TX S 2411 and TX H 4456 |
The 2007 Texas
appellate decision in the
Thomas case effectively
puts virtually all folding
knives in jeopardy of
illegal to possess and
carry.
appellate decision in the
Thomas case effectively
puts virtually all folding
knives in jeopardy of
illegal to possess and
carry.
March 18, 2009
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