CJ Buck, AKTI Chair, met with state lawmakers at the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation Event
The American Knife and Tool Institute’s (AKTI) Board of Regents was well represented at the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation‘s 22nd Annual National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) Sportsman-Legislator Summit, giving AKTI an opportunity to inform and educate state policymakers about responsible knife laws.
AKTI president and co-founder CJ Buck, CEO of Buck Knives, attended the summit in Memphis, TN, last month.
This annual event brings together sportsmen, legislators, and industry leaders to discuss critical issues affecting the hunting, fishing, and shooting sports communities. The 2025 Summit included over 320 attendees, among them 85 legislators from 25 states, state and federal agency leaders, conservation organizations, and outdoor industry professionals. This year’s focus was on proactive policymaking to meet modern conservation challenges and safeguard America’s outdoor traditions.
Buck had the opportunity to speak with lawmakers from New Mexico, a state that still enforces archaic restrictions on the sale and ownership of automatic knives, and to meet with other legislators and their staff.
“Earlier this year, AKTI helped shape legislation in Vermont and Delaware that removed automatic knife restrictions there, and that helped to show legislators in the few remaining holdout states how sensible knife laws can be passed,” said Buck. “The majority of U.S. states have updated their knife laws to reflect common-sense use, practical need, and public safety, and we’re positioning New Mexico to follow suit.”
The American Knife & Tool Institute has partnered with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation since 2009, first at the federal level during AKTI’s successful efforts to clarify the definition of automatic knives, and later on several state initiatives.
AKTI uses the annual NASC summit to work with state legislators to ensure responsible knife owners are not unfairly targeted by restrictive laws.
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