[Posted October 23, 2009, at 7:45 p.m.]
Introduction by Sam Cohen, Executive Vice President, Pro-Gun New Hampshire, Inc.:
Jennifer Coffey is a New Hampshire state representative; the National Coordinator, and a Director, of Second Amendment Sisters; a hospital staffer and EMT; and a member of the Pro-Gun New Hampshire Council of Advisors. She has submitted a bill in the New Hampshire legislature (LSR 2010-2015 - no bill number assigned as of yet) to both legalize the carrying of automatic and other knives and enhance the criminal penalty for their use in a crime. Attorney Evan Nappen, PGNH General Counsel, is a knife collector and author of many articles in various knife magazines; he helped develop the bill.
Why a knife bill in the New Hampshire legislature - and why switchblades? First of all, the Second Amendment talks about "arms," not "firearms" - and that includes knives. Second, demonizing certain knives is like demonizing certain guns: the enemies of freedom have used a "divide and conquer" strategy by trying to persuade some gun owners that certain guns are evil: "why would anyone want an assault weapon," "why would you need more than 10 rounds in a pistol magazine," "why would you need a Saturday Night Special," and even "why would hunters need handguns?" The same strategy can trip us up here: "why would anyone need an automatic ('switchblade') knife, or one of those Mafia stilettos?" Let's hope we all know better.
The following article also appears on the website of Second Amendment Sisters (www.2asisters.org) and elsewhere.
Protecting your Knife Rights!
by Representative
Jennifer Coffey
Knife rights and gun rights both come under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Second Amendment refers to "arms," not guns. In the Heller decision (which agreed that there is an individual right to keep and bear arms), the U.S. Supreme Court actually referenced the book "Swords & Blades of the American Revolution" in arriving at their decision. Just recently the federal government attempted to classify virtually all one-hand-opening knives as switchblades under federal law; fortunately, this effort was legislatively thwarted by the NRA, Knife Rights, American Knife and Tool Institute, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Unfortunately, New Hampshire has a prohibition against knives that can be misinterpreted in the same way. I have put forward a bill supported by both parties which removes this threat to your right to keep and bear arms, yet at the same time increases the penalty for those who would use knives to commit crimes against people.
For far too long, bans on certain knives have prevented law abiding citizens from purchasing, carrying, and selling them in our great state. The New Hampshire law lists them as stilettos, switch knives, daggers, and dirk-knives. Under current law, simply carrying one of these knives with no criminal intent can lead to a 12-month jail sentence. Currently the only citizens allowed to carry them at all times are police officers. Hunters and fishermen are allowed to carry them, but only while actively hunting or fishing; emergency medical technicians (EMTs), firefighters, and those in the military can carry them, but only while on duty. In other words, if you are caught carrying one of these knives under current law you can face charges even if you were doing nothing wrong!
I believe it is time for that to change. I have filed a bill to do just that (LSR 2010-2015). It removes the prohibition on the sale and carrying of these knives. This means that people who intend no harm will not have to fear having their knives. Businesses can choose to sell them in our state, making it no longer necessary for New Hampshire citizens to travel out of state to purchase them, including our first responders, military, knife collectors and yes, even our police officers.
Honest citizens have nothing to fear, but criminals will have more to fear. In order to be criminally convicted under my bill, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt three elements of the law;
a. You must use the knife! Merely carrying it is not enough.
b. You must use the knife on another person. Use of it to gut a deer, cut a rope, open a box, or any other use (not on another person) is not enough.
c. you must use the knife on another person with the intent of committing a crime. Using the knife to cut a pinned person free from a safety belt, to defend oneself, or any other use on a person without the intent of committing a crime is not enough.
In other words, the example given of someone speeding 30 miles over the limit (which is a crime) and simply carrying a knife will never lead to a charge under my bill. By contrast, under current law you can be charged right now for merely carrying the knife! Without this change in law, those that are in the above scenario now are at risk of up to 12 months in jail by simply being seen carrying one of these knives!
In fact under current law if you carry, possess with intent to sell, or sell one of these knives in New Hampshire, you face 12 months in jail. You could also lose your right to carry a firearm, by the issuing authority claiming you are not a "suitable person" due to your conviction of a "weapons" offense. Gun and knife dealers in New Hampshire have been charged under this unfair law and spent thousands of dollars to defend themselves.
To sum up, the bill lifts a longstanding ban on certain knives and allows for their sale in our state, thereby protecting the rights of honest citizens to purchase, posses, and carry knives for personal use including but not limited to rope cutting, box opening, hunting, fishing, saving lives, scuba diving, skydiving, camping, collecting, working, wood carving, and of course self-defense.
The modern automatic knife (switchblade) is no longer the infamous knife immortalized in 1950's movies like West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause. The modern automatic knife is a tool with unlimited utilitarian use and is a safer pocket knife because it locks both open and closed. Daggers, dirks, and stilettos are also undefined terms under New Hampshire law, and are vague enough that they could be construed to include hunting knives and kitchen knives if the state wanted to make such arguments. Under my bill, if a person uses such a knife against a person with intent to commit a crime, then even the broadest interpretation of their definition would not affect honest citizens. It also acts as a further deterrent (penalty enhancement) to those who would commit atrocities like what occurred in Mont Vernon with one of these knives.
I look forward to defending the rights of knife enthusiasts and businesses across our state while ensuring that law abiding citizens will be protected and the criminals in our midst will have more of a deterrent against committing atrocities with these knives in our state.
Editor's note: For more information about the proposed legislation, contact Rep. Coffey at jenn@jenncoffey.com.
Here is the text of the bill, LSR 2010-2015 as submitted [update 1/1/10: bill number is HB1665] (brackets denote deleted text; bold italics denote new text):
1 Carrying or Selling Weapons. Amend 159:16, I to read as follows:
159:16 Carrying or Selling Weapons. - Whoever, except as provided by the laws of this state, sells, has in his possession with intent to sell, or carries on his person any [stiletto, switch knife,] blackjack, [dagger, dirk-knife,] slung shot or metallic knuckles shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and such weapon or articles so carried by him shall be confiscated to the use of the state.
2 Criminal Use of Pistol Cane or Sword Cane. Amend 159:19-a, I to read as follows:
159:19-a Criminal
Use of Pistol Cane or Sword Cane. -
I. Any person who uses a pistol cane, stiletto, switch knife, dagger,
dirk-knife or sword cane on another person with intent to commit a
crime punishable as a misdemeanor shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
II. Any person who uses a pistol cane, stiletto, switch knife, dagger,
dirk-knife, or sword cane on another person with intent to commit a
crime punishable as a felony shall be guilty of a class B felony.
III. Neither the whole
nor any part of a sentence of imprisonment imposed for a violation of this
section shall be served concurrently with any other term of imprisonment.