If the Obama administration gets its way, the 50-year-old ban on importing switch blades may very well expand to include all knives that can be open single-handedly. There go your pocket knives.
The Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 defines a “switchblade knife” as any knife having a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button or other device in the handle of the knife, or by operation of inertia, gravity, or both.
Proposed by Customs and Border Protection, the new rule would include any spring-assisted and single-handed opening knives.
Critics argue the new rule could potentially make all pocket knife holders de facto criminals.