April 13, 2013: After two years of effort, Knife Rights is very pleased to announce that the Alaska Legislature passed HB33, the comprehensive Knife Rights Bill, and it is now on its way to Governor Sean Parnell. HB33 repeals the ban on the possession of switchblade (automatic) knives and enacts Knife Law Preemption. repealing all existing local restrictions on knives and preventing any new local knife laws from being enacted in Alaska.
Knife Rights would like to thank Representative Mark Neumann and Senator Fred Dyson for sponsoring this important legislation and for their determination that resulted in unanimous passage in both the Senate and House.
If you live work or travel to Alaska, PLEASE Call AND Email Governor Parnell and ask him to please sign HB33 as soon as possible.
CALL the Governor at: 907-465-3500 Email the Governor at: governor@alaska.gov
When you call and email, keep it polite, short and to the point. Just ask him to please sign HB33 as soon as possible.
April 9, 2013: The Alaska Senate has unanimously passed the comprehensive Knife Rights Bill. House Bill HB33 as amended will repeal the ban on switchblade knives and enact knife law preemption.
Now HB33 heads back to the House for a concurrence vote, however, THE SESSION ENDS SUNDAY! If you live work or travel to Alaska please contact your Representative ASAP and ask them to vote yes on HB33.
Unfortunately, Alaska doesn’t make it easy to locate your legislators. If you don’t know who your Representative is, here are some resources:
Links to the Alaska State Representatives can be found here: http://house.legis.state.ak.us/
Which district(s) they represent can be found here: http://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/forms/H04.pdf
When you call and email, keep it polite, short and to the point. Just ask them to vote Yes on HB33.
March 28, 2013: Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs Todd Rathner earlier this week testified before the Alaska Senate Committee on State Affairs in support of Senate Bill SB11 which would repeal the antiquated ban on switchblade knives in Alaska and would enact knife law preemption. SB11 was passed out of the committee and now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
You may remember that Todd also testified earlier in support of House Bill HB33 which would clarify the definition of a switchblade knife so as to clearly not include spring-assisted knives and would also enact knife law preemption. HB33 was passed by the House this week and has been sent over to the Senate, where it will also be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Knife Rights supports both bills. In the end, typically, they will be combined in conference and the final version may go in either direction, either full repeal of the ban on switchblades or the clarification of the definition of a switchblade. We would like to thank Rep Mark Neuman and Senator Fred Dyson for sponsoring these important bills.
February 27, 2013: Today, Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs, Todd Rathner, testified at a hearing of the Alaska House Judiciary Committee on HB33 “Definitions of Gravity Knives and Switchblades” referred to by primary sponsor Rep. Mark Neuman as the “Knife Rights Bill.” HB33 would clarify state law on the subject of assisted-opening and one-hand opening knives to ensure they are not considered gravity knives or switchblades, currently banned under Alaska statute. The bill also includes Knife Rights’ requested Knife Law Preemption. HB33 advanced out of committee without dissent and now goes to the full House for a vote.
House Speaker Mike Chenault and Rep. Max Gruenberg co-sponsored HB33. This bill is nearly identical to last year’s HB55 which was passed by the House, but was not heard in the Senate. With changes to the Senate after the 2012 election, we are anticipating better luck in effecting change in Alaska’s knife laws this time around.
Preemption ensures citizens can expect consistent enforcement of state knife laws everywhere in a state. Preemption prevents the creation of, or eliminates, a patchwork of local ordinances and laws more restrictive than state law which serve to confuse or entrap those traveling within or through the state.
Whether writing or calling, all that is necessary is to simply ask them to vote in favor of HB33. Keep it short and to the point.