Indiana Senate’s Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters unanimously passed Senate Bill SB06, a Knife Rights requested bill sponsored by Senators Jim Tomes and Johnny Nugent, which would overturn the state’s antiquated and irrational ban on the possession of switchblade/automatic knives. Senate Bill SB06

This is just the first step in this effort, but the unanimous bipartisan vote bodes well for the bill’s future. If you live, work or travel in Indiana, please contact your Senator and ask them to support SB06 when it comes to the floor for a vote in the coming days. Locate your Senator, or the Senator who represents where you work or travel here: http://district.iga.in.gov/DistrictLookup/.

Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs, Todd Rathner, testified at the hearing that these antiquated bans were implemented in the 1950’s in response to hysteria induced by movies like Rebel Without A Cause. They were not based on any type of public threat, increase in crime or other public policy decision. He also explained to the committee that “modern technology has created knives that open just as fast or faster than switchblades or automatics, so the bans on these knives are obsolete.”

SB06 removes a provision that makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away, or purchase any knife with a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, device containing gas, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife. Read the bill here: http://1.usa.gov/sffRrU.