Knife News Wire

In a meeting held Sept. 8, the Boston City Council decided to take no action on a proposal to require the licensing of businesses to sell knives in the city, Knife Rights reported.

It is likely it will be some weeks before a draft ordinance on the matter is presented to the City Council as a whole.

According to the supporters of the proposed license, the action is needed as a means to address the “ever-increasing knife violence in Boston.”

The city officials attending were clearly firm in their conviction that action must be taken and that some scapegoat must be found. There were grieving parents and their genuine heart-wrenching stories of lost loved ones. Public safety officials offered supportive testimony for the proposal. For anyone who attended Boston’s infamous gun control hearings a decade ago, the only difference was the word “guns” was replaced with “knives.”

The testimony and statements during the hearing were eerily reminiscent of past gun control hearings. “Why would we allow any corner store to sell these dangerous weapons (knives)?” “Selling knives does not support families.” “We must do everything we can to restrict access to these dangerous weapons.” “Why would anyone need a knife with a blade more than two inches long?””Knives are fine if you need them for work, but employers should require they be left on the job.”

Anyone involved in the Second Amendment battle of the past few decades knows this is exactly how gun control efforts were initiated. To make matters worse, law enforcement officials testified that “the modern way of approaching these issues is to go after the source of the items rather than the criminals themselves.”

Representing both Knife Rights and the Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL), GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace told the City Council to take careful and meaningful steps in addressing the problem of violent crime. “I urge the City Council to review what it is about to do and reflect on the failures of gun control,” said Wallace. “Over a decade ago I had to testify before committees in the state house with grieving families in the background. Now I sit before you a decade later with grieving families behind me again. If you proceed down this path and get it wrong again, ten years from now we will likely repeat this scene yet again.”

Wallace also reminded the council members that the stores in question are already licensed by the city, for which they pay a fee and are subject to city oversight as to their compliance with the law. Moreover, he added, there is already an ordinance on the books that makes it illegal to sell a knife with a blade two inches or longer to anyone under age 18. He reiterated that there is no need for new regulation.  

If you are a Boston citizen, here is a link to the council members’ Web pages where you can find a link to contact them and express your concern: http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/councillors

This Thursday, Sept. 8, the Public Safety Committee of the Boston City Council will hold a hearing with the intention of licensing the sale of knives in the city of Boston, Knife Rights reported. Below is the official stated purpose of the hearing:
 

That the appropriate committee of the Boston City Council hold a hearing to examine requiring the sale of knives to be licensed by the appropriate police agency that would monitor, regulate and license businesses selling knives. Representatives from the Boston Police Department, Inspectional Services Department, and other interested parties shall be invited to attend.

The meeting will be at Boston City Hall, Ianella Chambers, 5th Floor on Sept. 8 at 10 a.m.  
 
If you are a Boston citizen, here is a link to the councilors’ webpages where you can find a link to contact them and POLITELY express your outrage: http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/councillors
 
Along with Knife Rights, Blademag.com urges all Boston area knife enthusiasts to contact the Boston City Council and express their opposition to this measure. According to Knife Rights, Bostonians currently need a license to possess pepper spray. In a year or so this measure could lead to licensing citizens to possess a basic pocketknife.

As noted in the article linked below, existing Boston law already prohibits knives with a blade two inches or longer from being sold to anyone under age 18. A number of stores were fined as a result of a recent sting operation for illegally selling knives to underage people. There is no indication of any factual connection made between violence committed with knives in the city and these retailers, or that licensing would actually help the situation any more than simply enforcing the existing law on the books.

Knife Rights has a representative in Massachusetts who will attend the meeting, but if you live in the area and can attend as well, the stronger the show of opposition to the proposal, the better.

Video: www.bit.ly/p0TUmg 
Article:  http://bo.st/qBwsaZ