Is there a knife group I can go to for more information?
Do they need a few extra bucks to help the fight?
Are they interested in any of our experience working with the legislator?
1.) Yes, there is a knife group you can go to. From my own contact with them, I know that this bill was pushed (and, I believe, drafted in large part) by the American Knife and Tool Institute (
www.akti.org). They haven't posted the bill's status to their news page yet, which is why I was hesitant to publish their involvement (I'd prefer to give them the first word), but I suppose it's probably OK at this point since they don't update their site too often and, well, you asked. That also leaves me free to make the following plug for monetary support:
2.) AKTI has a page where you can donate or (even better) join. As a bonus, membership gets you access to their legal database covering analyses of various states' knife laws. I frequently transport a lot of knives across state lines, so I've found that quite handy on a number of occassions.
3.) Ask them and see! I'm an AKTI member and they suggested to me that help may be needed when it goes to committee hearing. To that end I would like to drum up a group who could offer support at that hearing, though I don't have any personal experience dealing with the legislature directly. Anyone here interested in being a part of that? (Not as a MOC event, obviously.) Maybe once we have a group, we can also contact AKTI and coordinate more closely with them. And, obviously, write your legislators. The more support, the better - since knives generally take second place to guns in peoples' minds, it may take some work to convince even 2A-friendly legislators that this is a law that needs introducing/changing.
Honestly, it might be for the best if OC groups don't become *officially* involved in supporting this bill anyway - at least not as the main groups pushing for the change. OC is a divisive topic, even among gun owners, so NOT having that association is probably in the best interest of an unrelated bill like this which will already have its fair share of detractors. That said, groups of people like you are *exactly* the kind of people we need to support an effort like this, because many MOC members have the experience and proven track record of legal success that's needed for this kind of effort.
On an unrelated note, I think it's finally time I bite the bullet and actually buy a MOC membership....
