Urgent - South Carolina Bill Vote 3/11

A

AKTICommunication

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Mar 7, 2008
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Hello BladeForums Members:

We need your help in the ongoing fight to allow you to keep and use your knives. We need your help today!

The American Knife & Tool Institute, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in January, 2008, has historically adopted a policy of trying to take specific action to protect your knife rights.

In February, 2007, we got a bill passed (which we initiated) in Arkansas. The bill successfully repealed the state's weapon law which formerly stated that if you carried a knife with a blade of 3 1/2 inches or longer, you were guilty of a weapons violation.

We will go from state to state, as we have the funds (lobbyists cost money), to initiate bills that address the most sweeping anti-knife laws first. We support your right to carry a knife. We also advocate strong penalties for people who use knives in the commission of a crime.

You can find out about all our successes on your behalf at ... www.akti.org . During the past 10 years, we have initiated legislation (and gotten it passed in every case) that has protected an estimated 21 million knife owners.

Our current legislative action is taking place in South Carolina. We initiated a bill to address the current law that says if you carry a knife with a blade longer than two inches, you are subject to arrest. We believe that includes virtually every knife commonly carried.

Our lobbyist will be representing AKTI and all knife owners in the state (and those who plan to visit) from possible arrest. You may live and work in the state (and even use your knife every day for work). You may have relatives in South Carolina who own and carry knives. You may plan to visit. You may be a hunter, fisherman, hiker, backpacker, golfer or birdwatcher who plans to pursue your hobby in the state and spend your money there.

You can help us help you!

Please contact the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee ASAP. The full Judiciary Committee will vote on S 968 on Tuesday, March 11. The subcommittee already passed the bill on March 4. But we need a large show of support to keep this bill moving forward.

South Carolina’s current statutes make it a criminal offense to carry a knife with a blade longer than two inches.

Here is another sample letter that you can modify when you contact the Committee. (Personalize it by telling the committee how you are connected to South Carolina.) This one focuses on the huge impact of hunters and fishermen on the state economy.

Send your emails today to … sju@scsenate.org

March 7, 2008

South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee
PO Box 142
Columbia, SC 29202-0142
sju@scsenate.org

RE: Support for S 968

Dear Committee Members:

The American Knife & Tool Institute, the organization that represents all segments of the sporting knife industry and all responsible knife owners, supports passage of S 968.

More than 95 percent of the knives used by sportsmen, recreational users and the construction industry have blades longer than two inches. Virtually every hunter and fisherman carries a knife and it would be rare to find one that has a blade less than two inches.

Recent studies by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation show that hunters and fishermen provide a huge impact on the South Carolina economy.
1) An estimated 595,000 hunters and fishermen spend more than $1.8 billion per year in your state.
2) They support 32,700 state jobs that produce a payroll of $839,000 million.
3) Outdoor activities generate $182 million in state and local taxes annually.

Your current knife law makes virtually every hunter and fisherman subject to arrest for knife carry. South Carolina should welcome these law-abiding people into your state. And we should not make de-facto criminals of the estimated 2,000,000 state residents and other visitors who carry knives for their jobs or recreational purposes.

Please support S 968.

Sincerely,

David D. Kowalski
AKTI Communication Coordinator
715-209-7389
 
South Carolina Update 3-14

The full Judiciary Committee of the South Carolina Senate passed AKTI’s bill S968 unanimously on Tuesday, March 11. Then the full Senate passed it for the first time without objection on Thursday, March 13. We are well on our way but there are key steps remaining during a very short legislative session with a lot of bills clogging up the calendar.

Thank you to those who sent emails or letters to the Judiciary Committee. A bill does not pass unanimously at any level unless lawmakers believe it has merit and they see significant support.

The March 13 review and vote by the full Senate was the second “reading” for the bill and the time when any significant debate in the Senate would have occurred. This second reading in the Senate is when a senator could have declared a Notice of General Amendment if he or she had any objections. The bill passed unanimously and we even picked up an additional senate sponsorship from Jake Knotts, Jr., a retired police officer.

Please stay alert. I will be making future requests for contacts when the bill goes over to the House, which is expected to happen on March 18th or 19th.

Now here’s your South Carolina civics lesson. A bill can be introduced in either the Senate or the House. It then becomes a race to see which bill can pass its chamber first. A bill is assigned to a committee, reviewed and voted on by a subcommittee of that committee, then bounced back up to the full committee. That’s how far we’ve come with S968. The Senate Judiciary subcommittee voted for it unanimously; the full committee did the same; then the full Senate passed on it without objection.

In order to become law, a bill gets three “readings” in each chamber of the legislature, then must be signed by the governor. The first reading is when the bill is introduced. The second reading is the full debate on the chamber floor. The third reading is typically a formality where any housekeeping issues such as spelling or clarity are resolved.

Once a bill passes out of one chamber, it retains its original bill number and goes through the process in the other chamber. So if/when S968 moves out of the Senate, it will get assigned to a committee in the House.

Palmer Freeman, our AKTI lobbyist, tells me he has assurances of support from several House members once it gets to that chamber. Their original reluctance to sponsor the bill has now apparently been replaced by greater understanding of its implications and the realization that several Senators have examined it and found it worthy of support.

Once again, thank you for your support. If you have not taken any direct action yet, you will get another chance soon. I will ask for emails to be sent next week to House committee members. And once the bill gets to the governor, I will ask for another show of support then.

This is how laws get passed … one measured step at a time. In the process of taking direct action on behalf of more than 21 million individual knife owners in several states to change their knife laws, the American Knife & Tool Institute has learned that you need a knowledgeable, professional lobbyist to talk directly to lawmakers. Lobbyists cost money so that’s why we continue to ask for your financial support. We also need you, real people, sending reasonable and rational letters and emails to lawmakers before critical votes. You are voters, potential voters, or friends of voters so they listen to what you say.

David Kowalski
AKTI Communications Coordinator
715-209-7389
 
Thanks for your hard work.
Kudo's to AKTI
I hope SCAK's small contribution made a difference.
 
Hello Bobby and members:

Thanks to you and all those who have helped. Now here's a new update (and a bit of a recap from last week).

South Carolina Update … 3/20/08

South Carolina Senate bill S968 passed its third reading in the Senate on Tuesday, March 18 and now moves over to the House side on March 25. The South Carolina House was adjourned the week of March 17 so S968 could not get there any faster than March 25.

For those of you who are new to this report, the American Knife & Tool Institute hired a lobbyist and initiated S968 in January. The bill would remove knives with blades longer than two inches from the state’s list of defined weapons.

AKTI’s position is that the current statute effectively makes about 95 percent of the knives used and carried in the state for any recreational or vocational purpose illegal. When considering the plight of hunters and fishermen, an estimated 99 percent of the models of knives they use for skinning game or filleting fish would currently be illegal. The estimate is that the 2006 economic impact of hunting and fishing in the state was in excess of $1.8 billion.

In essence, the current law puts the state of South Carolina in the position of inviting sportsmen and women into the state, then subjecting them to possible arrest and prosecution if they carry a knife. AKTI considers that prospect untenable and also is seeking to remove upwards of two million state residents and visitors of all descriptions from being branded as de-facto criminals.

Again, thank you to those who sent emails and letters to Senate Judiciary Committee members. And thank you in advance for your support when the bill moves over to the House.

When the bill gets placed in committee next week, we will alert you where your emails and letters should be sent at that point.

At any step in this process, if a lawmaker objects to the bill, it could be placed on hold and killed. S968 has passed every Senate hurdle to date unanimously. So when we call for your help on the House side, we will need it. Because the stronger our show of support, the more likely lawmakers will see the wisdom and fairness of voting YES for S968.

To see key progress reports on S968, you can go to the AKTI website at www.akti.org. In the meantime, here is a summary of our status that we sent out last week….

South Carolina Update … 3/14/08

The full Judiciary Committee of the South Carolina Senate passed AKTI’s bill S968 unanimously on Tuesday, March 11. Then the full Senate passed it for the first time without objection on Thursday, March 13. We are well on our way but there are key steps remaining during a very short legislative session with a lot of bills clogging up the calendar.

Thank you to those who sent emails or letters to the Judiciary Committee. A bill does not pass unanimously at any level unless lawmakers believe it has merit and they see significant support.

The March 13 review and vote by the full Senate was the second “reading” for the bill and the time when any significant debate in the Senate would have occurred. This second reading in the Senate is when a senator could have declared a Notice of General Amendment if he or she had any objections. The bill passed unanimously and we even picked up an additional senate sponsorship from Jake Knotts, Jr., a retired police officer.

Please stay alert. I will be making future requests for contacts when the bill goes over to the House, which is expected to happen on March 18th or 19th.

Now here’s your South Carolina civics lesson. A bill can be introduced in either the Senate or the House. It then becomes a race to see which bill can pass its chamber first. A bill is assigned to a committee, reviewed and voted on by a subcommittee of that committee, then bounced back up to the full committee. That’s how far we’ve come with S968. The Senate Judiciary subcommittee voted for it unanimously; the full committee did the same; then the full Senate passed on it without objection.

In order to become law, a bill gets three “readings” in each chamber of the legislature, then must be signed by the governor. The first reading is when the bill is introduced. The second reading is the full debate on the chamber floor. The third reading is typically a formality where any housekeeping issues such as spelling or clarity are resolved.

Once a bill passes out of one chamber, it retains its original bill number and goes through the process in the other chamber. So if/when S968 moves out of the Senate, it will get assigned to a committee in the House.

Palmer Freeman, our AKTI lobbyist, tells me he has assurances of support from several House members once it gets to that chamber. Their original reluctance to sponsor the bill has now apparently been replaced by greater understanding of its implications and the realization that several Senators have examined it and found it worthy of support.

Once again, thank you for your support. If you have not taken any direct action yet, you will get another chance soon. I will ask for emails to be sent next week to House committee members. And once the bill gets to the governor, I will ask for another show of support then.

This is how laws get passed … one measured step at a time. In the process of taking direct action on behalf of more than 21 million individual knife owners in several states to change their knife laws, the American Knife & Tool Institute has learned that you need a knowledgeable, professional lobbyist to talk directly to lawmakers. Lobbyists cost money so that’s why we continue to ask for your financial support. We also need you, real people, sending reasonable and rational letters and emails to lawmakers before critical votes. You are voters, potential voters, or friends of voters so they listen to what you say.

David Kowalski
AKTI Communications Coordinator
715-209-7389
 
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