Email Florida Gov. Bush by May 2

[David D. Kowalski]

From Richard Watson - lobbyist for Florida Cutlery Association …


Email Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his analyst by Friday, May 2 !!!

Please email Governor Bush urging him to sign HB 1227 (Clarification of Self-propelled Knife Statute). The Governor is called Florida's E-Governor because of his steering Florida onto the Electronic Highway. His address and a sample letter appear below. Also, provide a copy of your email to the analyst in his office who is evaluating the bill and to me.

HERE'S THE TIME FRAME:

I spoke to the analyst, Kurt Ahrendt, yesterday. The Governor has not formally received the bill as of Monday April 28. Since we are in the last seven days of the Regular Session, he will now have 15 days to take action. Even though the bill was passed nine days prior to the end of Session, his time limit runs from the date he actually receives the bill.


The analyst has a deadline of Friday, May 2nd. His recommendation will be sent to the Governor on that day. I have provided pertinent parts of my files to aide the analysis. Governor Bush values input on the bills before him. He has three choices: He can sign the bill. He can veto the bill. He can let the bill become law without his signature if he fails to act with the prescribed time. I am asking you to contact the Governor and urge him to sign the bill. Please ACT IMMEDIATELY.

HERE ARE THE ADDRESSES:

jeb.bush@myflorida.com

Kurt.Ahrendt@laspbs.state.fl.us

RWatsn@aol.com


HERE'S A SAMPLE MESSAGE:

(Feel free to edit the message and personalize it with your reasons for supporting the bill. Also, change the subject line, as well. Some subject lines you might use include "Sign HB 1227," "I Support HB 1227," "Please Sign HB 1227," "I Urge You to Sign HB 1227!".)

Subject: Clarification of Self-propelled Knife Statute (HB 1227)

Dear Governor Bush:

Please sign HB 1227! This bill corrects an erroneous District Court of Appeal decision which has had a very negative impact on people who have ordinary pocketknives.

The prohibition on self-propelled knives was passed in a bill in 1985. A self-propelled knife is a spring- loaded, self-propelled knife that was designed to shoot a knife blade out of the handle of the knife for a distance of up to 35 feet. In advertisements, the knife was called SHAW which stood for "Serious Human Assassination Weapon." These knives should be banned. The definition in the legislation was very narrowly drafted to ONLY BAN THAT ONE KNIFE. The legislature took care to prevent it from affecting any common knife or other types of pocketknife.

However, in 2000 a South Florida Court misinterpreted the law and issued an opinion that had the effect of EXPANDING the definition to encompass common automatic opening pocketknives owned by millions of law-abiding citizens. This bill CLARIFIES the law and puts things back the way the legislature intended to ban only the knife known as the SHAW, not common pocketknives owned by law-abiding citizens.

Please sign the bill!

Sincerely,




Here's another possible letter to copy and/or modify and send …

Please sign HB 1227 !

Dear Governor Bush:

Signing HB 1227 into law will allow millions of responsible, law-abiding Floridians who carry ordinary pocketknives for their work or recreation to continue to do so.

As a member of the American Knife & Tool Institute, I am concerned that the recent Florida v. Darynani case clearly went beyond the original intention of the Florida legislature when it expressly banned ballistic knives in 1985. The original bill sponsor, Senator Kiser, and his fellow lawmakers never intended this ban to apply to any other knives than those where the blade physically separates from the handle or body of the knife.

The practical result of the Darynani case and its misinterpretation of the statute 790.225 was to create thousands of "defacto" criminals in Florida. A wide range of knives commonly used by police, rescue personnel, firefighters, hunters, fishermen, hikers, carpenters, electricians, auto mechanics and even backyard gardeners across the state have been practically banned. If you know any of those people who depend on knives in their everyday lives, you know how important it can be to have a knife that opens with one hand. Countless lives have been saved in emergency situations where a user or rescuer could get a knife blade open with one hand. Let's not make criminals of these responsible, law-abiding people just because they carry a pocketknife for their work or recreation.

Thank you for your support of HB 1227.

Sincerely,

 

[CJ Buck]

Here was a response from Rick to Dave after reading the email...

Dave:

As of this morning, I have received only two copies of emails to Governor Bush. I hope we can get a better response from our distribution list.

In response to your telephone call as to when the Governor would have to act on the bill, here's the best answer I can give you. He hasn't physically received the bill as of this morning. Since we are in the last seven days of the Regular Session, he will now have 15 days to take action. Even though the bill was passed nine days prior to the end of Session, his time limit runs from the date he actually receives the bill.

Having said that, we need to get as many emails to the Governor (with copies to me and the Governor's analyst ASAP. His analyst indicated to me last Friday that his deadline for a recommendation on the bill was Friday, May 2nd. I've taken the liberty of reproducing my earlier email and pasted it at the bottom of this email (and corrected the analysts email address.)

Thanks for all your support.

Rick

 

[CJ Buck]

Here is an article from florida...

Sunday, 04/27/2003
Northwest Florida Daily News

Legislature cutting red tape

Forget health care, class sizes and budget cuts.

The Florida Legislature took a break from weighty issues to pass a bill that will allow a one-armed man to open a pocketknife without chipping his teeth.

If Gov. Jeb Bush signs off on the bill, sponsored by Rep. Greg Evers, R-Baker, switchblades and other automatic knives will no longer be illegal in Florida.

The bill clarifies a 1985 law passed to ban Russian-made knives that use coil springs or compressed gas to shoot a knife blade from the handle with "significant accuracy" up to 35 feet.

In 2000, an appellate court broadened the law to include switchblades. An unintended consequence was that all automatic knives opening with a push button were banned, proponents of the bill said.

"As a result, a lot of people were walking around with illegal pocketknives, committing a crime and they didn’t even know it," said National Rifle Association past-President Marion Hammer.

House Bill 1227 clarifies the language to uphold the ban on the Russian projectileknives, dubbed Serious Human Assassination Weapons, or SHAWs. The bill also stipulates that any knife with the blade remaining attached to the handle, which includes knives activated with a button, will be legal.

"We’re not talking about long stilettos," said Evers. "We’re talking about regular pocketknives that open with a button or are springassisted."

The bill passed the House unanimously last week in a 117-0 vote and cleared the Senate Thursday with equal enthusiasm by a 39-0 margin.

"This is a working man’s bill," Evers said. "I use an automatic knife on my farm all the time. If you’re carrying a bundle and you’re using a regular knife, you have to put the bundle down to open the knife."

Firefighters, emergency responders, law enforcement officers, hunters and collectors use similar knives, and it was never the intent of the Legislature to prohibit their use, Evers said.

Evers and Hammer offered the scenario of an automobile accident where an emergency worker is trying to hold the person with one hand and cut the seat belt with the other.

"With an automatic knife, they can reach in their pocket and open it with one hand and cut the seat belt," Hammer said.

Most emergency rescue personnel, however, say other equipment works best for them. Les Slocum, Holley-Navarre Fire District’s assistant chief, prefers his Gerber tool.

"I really don’t see how it’s going to make much difference to us," Slocum said.

Okaloosa County Emergency Medical Services Chief Al Herndon agreed. Herndon said his crews use U-shaped rescue knives with a razor in the middle to cut seat belts.

"You slide it over the seat belt and cut it away," Herndon said.

Okaloosa County Sheriff ’s Office spokesman Rick Hord said a concealed-weapon permit is needed to carry any hidden knife not considered an "ordinary pocketknife."

Hord said there are no laws on the books that define an ordinary pocketknife. But courts have upheld an attorney general’s opinion that a folding knife with a blade less than 4 inches is legal to carry without a permit.

When asked if a push-button knife less than 4 inches long would be considered ordinary, Hord replied, "Probably not."

The confusion over the 1985 law banning the Russian SHAWs was the result of a 2000 case stemming from the arrest of a couple in Broward County for selling switchblades at a flea market.

The Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled the Legislature’s original intent in the 1985 law banning SHAWs also meant to ban possession of switchblade knives.

Hammer said the NRA helped write the bill and the intention was to ban only SHAWs.

"This was a case of the court legislating from the bench," Hammer said.

The bill was sent Thursday to Gov. Jeb Bush’s office and he has 10 days from that time to veto the bill or pass it into law.

 

[LaughingBuddha]

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