Will DA Vance Arrest Stephen Colbert for Switchblade Possession?

August 29: Given New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.'s campaign to shakedown and prosecute those selling or possessing so-called "illegal knives" (locking one-handed and assisted openers) in New York, one has to wonder when his goons will show up on Stephen Colbert's doorstep to arrest the self-proclaimed liberal TV satirist. On the August 18 Colbert Report, which is produced in New York City, Colbert flicked open a Benchmade Barrage assisted opening knife, which would be a switchblade according to DA Vance's self-serving distortion and abuse of New York State's switchblade and gravity knife statute. You can watch Colbert demonstrate his knife skills here: http://bit.ly/c1WWER (at the 38 second point of the video segment).

We aren't holding our breath for that to happen, however. Vance clearly operates to a double standard when it comes to his prosecutions and your civil rights. Which explains why Paragon Sports in NYC is still displaying and selling its hundreds of thousands of dollars of custom knives, many or most of which are locking one-hand openers that operate exactly the same as the lower cost production knives that Paragon handed over to Vance when they paid a six-figure "contribution" to Vance to avoid prosecution for selling so-called "illegal gravity knives." Apparently it's only illegal to sell these so-called "illegal knives" when the customers are just plain working folks. If you are wealthy enough to afford a high-end custom knife from Paragon, then that's fine. The hypocrisy is apparently lost on Paragon which seems perfectly comfortable with the DA's double standard on civil rights.

NYC Knife Persecution Developments

Ace Hardware has apparently been targeted by Vance and in furtherance of another one of those deferred prosecution agreement shakedowns, has sent a memo to all of its dealers and co-op members in New York State, not just New York City, requiring that they "must remove all one-handed opening knives from their shelves." They will no longer ship such knives to their dealers and co-op members in New York State.

When I spoke to Ace Hardware's attorney at their headquarters, he didn't argue that Vance's interpretation of New York law was flawed, but rather he noted that they were protecting their many independent dealers and co-op members, a unique business model compared to others Vance has shaken down, none of which could have stood up to Vance had he attacked them each independently. He declined to explain why they agreed to restrict one-hand openers from the entire state, which clearly falls outside Vance's jurisdiction. Once again, Vance's mafia-like shakedown scheme scores a win because the major retailers will not risk the potential for harassment by Vance and his goons. Knife sales simply do not represent enough business to be worth it to them. In this case, his reach outside the city itself to take a swipe at your rights is even more troubling.

DA Vance's assault on folders has also driven the 32-year-old New York Custom Knife Show out of New York City. It's moved across the river to Secaucus, New Jersey. For more information: http://bit.ly/9SWJgN

Read prior articles on this issue:

     Manhattan District Attorney Shakes Down Honest Knife Retailers
     Knife Rights Contests DA's Claims, Tactics in Knife Retailer Shakedown

Industry Waiting for DA Vance's Second Wave

Meanwhile, the knife industry awaits DA Vance's "second wave" of prosecutions, this time against online retailers selling into New York City, which he threatened in his original press conference and press release. A number of online retailers have simply ceased shipping to New York City, and in some cases, to the entire state, clearly cowed by DA Vance's threat. Others have been more selective, only stopping shipments of the locking one-hand openers and assisted openers that Vance appears to be targeting. Given the DA's enormous resources and clear lack of ethics, we can understand that response, even while we find it tragic. For Vance, every one of those is a victory against your freedoms and rights that he clearly holds in contempt. With the summer vacation season winding down, we have every reason to believe that we won't have to wait much longer for Vance to take his act on the road, so to speak.

We have received a number of emails and phone calls recently asking what we are doing about this revolting mess or why we haven't done something already. Please do not assume that nothing has been happening regarding the NYC situation, just because we haven't been saying much about it. The nature of the problem with DA Vance is a legal one, and one that is pretty complicated in some respects given the issues and tactics involved. As such, we cannot reveal much about what we are working on and our strategy as we would prefer. At this point there is little we can report to our membership and little we can ask of you to do other than imploring you to contribute as generously as you can.

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All this effort does take resources and we do need your continued support. Please help us stop this insanity. Make a Contribution to our fight against the DA's assault on our pocket knives.

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

If you are a retailer or individual who finds yourself targeted for the sale or possession of so-called illegal knives (one-hand opening and assisted opening knives inappropriately claimed to be gravity knives or switchblades), we urge you to immediately contact Knife Rights at: email nycity@KnifeRights.org or call toll-free: 1-866-889-6268.

You have a constitutional right to seek help and counsel.

Yesterday's decision by the Supreme Court in McDonald v. Chicago incorporating the Second Amendment to the states is an important victory in the fight to protect the individual right to keep and bear arms. Congratulations are in order to the Second Amendment Foundation, who was the prime sponsor of the effort on behalf of the litigants, to attorney Alan Gura who developed the case and the strategy and then along with the NRA argued the case before the court, and to all who submitted supporting briefs.

From the perspective of knife owners, this decision, like Heller before it, includes a reference to knives in support of the majority opinion. In this case, it is reference to the abrogation by states of the civil rights of African Americans after the Civil War, prohibiting their possession of a number of named arms, including "dirk or bowie knife."

There is no question that this decision gives those of us fighting for our knife rights another arrow in our quiver, one with a nice sharp point. It sets the stage for further advancements via both legislation and the courts. With the Second Amendment confirmed now as both an individual right and the law of the land, it becomes easier to make the argument in legislatures and elsewhere to remove unreasonable restrictions on knives. The key issue is the term "reasonable."

June 5, 2010: Knife Rights chairman Doug Ritter today announced a million-dollar "SECOND FRONT”™ fundraising campaign at Knife Rights’ Sharper Future™ Awards Breakfast at the BLADE Show in Atlanta.

As Knife Rights pursued its successful legislative agenda this past year, key allies have been leading grassroots Second Amendment organizations and supporters who recognize that it's our Second Amendment too! From their point of view, Knife Rights opened a "second front" in the defense of our Second Amendment. Those who have for so long fought for our Second Amendment rights are encouraged to see a new ally.

While all of us view our knives as tools, ultimately our right to own and carry these tools is enshrined in the Second Amendment, for which we should all be eternally grateful. Look at the Knife Rights logo and you will see the two pillars upon which we stand, "Essential Tools - Essential Rights." We cannot retain the former without the latter. One need only look over the ocean to England to see the bleak alternative of a society that doesn't trust its own citizens with the most common of tools. We retain freedoms only if we continue to fight for them. For too long we just stood by, but no more! However, fighting for our rights takes money, plain and simple.

Financial support from these Second Amendment allies has been critical to our success this year and will be in the near future as we have much work to do before we are large enough to fund our efforts entirely ourselves. So, I am very excited to announce the launch of a major Knife Rights fundraising effort to support our legislative initiatives. Appropriately, we've chosen to call it our "SECOND FRONT" Fundraising Campaign and our initial goal is raise one million dollars to support Knife Rights legislative initiatives.

If you are a retailer or individual who finds yourself targeted for the sale or possession of so-called illegal knives (one-hand opening and assisted opening knives inappropriately claimed to be gravity knives or switchblades), we urge you to immediately contact Knife Rights at: email nycity@KnifeRights.org or call toll-free: 1-866-889-6268.

You have a constitutional right to seek help and counsel.

June 20: New York District Attorney Vance's dramatic press conference on Thursday was quite a show with a very impressive array of so-called gravity knives and switchblades displayed, but political grandstanding doesn't change the fact that the claims made by Vance had little basis in truth.

Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter said, "the outrageous claims made by Vance to rationalize his shakedown of honest knife retailers during his press conference were all deliberate misrepresentations or half-truths, if not outright lies. If the general media in attendance wasn't so unfortunately uninformed of the issues and the law, as well as the technical aspects of folding knives, he might have had a more difficult time getting them to swallow the unmitigated fabrications he was dishing out."

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Said Ritter, "It's hard to imagine how Vance could be further out of touch with both the law and mainstream America." Ritter goes on into detail on the misleading information from the DA.

New Yorkers Being Deprived of Popular Pocket Knives

June 17: The New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney's office appears to be engaged in a shakedown of local businesses, forcing them to pay six-figure so-called "contributions" or risk unwarranted criminal penalties, in a move more like that of organized crime than the agency charged with protecting citizens, said a national group representing the rights of Americans who own and use pocket knives. Knife Rights Chairman, Doug Ritter, said, "the New York County District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, Jr. appears to have targeted legitimate, honest knife dealers, accused them of selling illegal 'gravity knives,' and threatening criminal prosecution if they don't pay up. The so-called "gravity knives" in question appear to be conventional one-handed and assisted-opening knives, which represent 80 percent of the pocket knives sold in the U.S. today." Some of the major retailers have reported agreed to six-figure settlements and have netted the DA millions of dollars.

Knife Rights was instrumental in passing legislation last summer, in response to a misinterpretation of law by U.S Customs and Border Protection, that specifically excepted these common pocket knives used daily by millions of Americans from the definition of a switchblade under the Federal Switchblade Act. The legislation was supported by Customs and was passed by U.S. Congress, with strong bipartisan support, and signed into law by President Obama on October 28, 2009.

Ritter said, "Given the passage of this legislation, the DA is attacking people who sell knives that were clearly defined by Congress as simple pocket knives, legislation that was supported by leading Democratic lawmakers such as Henry Waxman (D-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), David Obey (D-WI) and others. This action is not only unethical; it places Mr. Vance at odds with even liberal urban lawmakers and outside the mainstream on this issue."

Among the dozen or so businesses that have reported to have been targeted in New York City are Eastern Mountain Sports, Orvis, Paragon Sports, Lowe's and Home Depot. At least one out-of-state Internet retailer has been targeted.

You can view one of a number of news articles and images of the DA's Thursday afternoon news conference (held after this initial Knife Rights new release was sent out) here: http://bit.ly/ar7FLT

The six-figure so-called "contributions" are being made to a "public education fund" controlled by the DA in order to secure "deferred prosecution" agreements to avoid threatened criminal charges. Additional outrageous and over-reaching demands have also apparently been made to avoid prosecution.

Said Ritter, "This appears to be little more than extortion on the part of a District Attorney who appears determined to shake down honest businesses and remove from the New York market common tools used daily by New Yorkers in their homes, in business and while recreating. These are simple pocket knives, legitimate tools used every day by millions of law-abiding Americans."

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