CODY, WY—The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) applauds Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) for their bipartisan introduction of the Interstate Transport Act (ITA) earlier this month.
“The Interstate Transport Act is a commonsense solution to a patchwork of state laws that will help bring clarity and provide peace of mind for the hardworking Americans that drive our economy. Every day, American workers rely on the knives in their tool belts to keep our country running. These law-abiding Americans should not have to worry that the essential tools of their trade might result in heavy fines or even jail time,” said Budd. Providing clarity for and protecting knife users while traveling has been a long-term goal of AKTI, which encourages consistent, responsible knife laws for Americans who use an essential tool daily.
“We are grateful for the support and efforts of Senators Budd and Wyden and their staff to achieve this goal with the Interstate Transport Act,” said Jan Billeb, Executive Director of AKTI Additional introducing cosponsors of S.5513 include Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Steve Daines (R-MT), Gary C. Peters (D-MI). and James Risch (R-ID). “Responsible knife owners should not have to worry about facing jail time for carrying safely secured knives between two locations where their knives are legal to possess,” Wyden said. “This legislation would establish protections for law-abiding knife owners so that they can have certainty when travelling that they will not be unfairly penalized because of the variance in state and local knife regulations.”
AKTI has spearheaded the ITA conversation for several years. In 2018, the Senate first passed the ITA bill with unanimous consent. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the Interstate Transport Act of 2019 with full bipartisan support, but it stalled in the legislative process. “We’re hopeful that Congress will finalize the legislation this time around,” said CJ Buck, AKTI President and CEO of Buck Knives. “This common-sense legislation has consistently enjoyed bipartisan support. Responsible knife owners have faced a confusing tangle of varying knife laws when traveling far too long. We look forward to continuing to work with Senators Budd and Wyden and their staff through the legislative process.”
You can read more about the Interstate Transport Act and how it will protect individuals here.
About AKTI The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) is the effective nonprofit advocacy organization for the knife industry and all knife owners. Its mission is to ensure that Americans will always be able to make, buy, sell, own, carry, and use knives and edged tools. Formed in 1998, AKTI is dedicated to educating, promoting, and providing relevant and accurate information about knives and edged tools as important tools in daily American life. AKTI is recognized worldwide as the most respected, credible, and accurate source of knife law information and legislative input, encouraging reasonable and responsible knife laws and regulations and consistent enforcement. For more information, visit AKTI.org.
For more information visit www.akti.org
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