Knife Check at the NRA Meeting in Atlanta

Weapons could be carried, openly or concealed, at the NRA Meeting in Atlanta in 2017. Except where the Secret Service had control of the venue for President Trump’s speech. As you can see, knives and numerous other items that people would not think of as weapons, such as selfie sticks and backpacks, were prohibited.

This could have presented a major problem for people who had just walked a half a mile from parking to see and hear the first American President to address the NRA Annual Meeting since Ronald Reagan in 1983.  Fortunately, Doug Ritter of Knife Rights had arranged a compassionate solution.  Only a hundred feet from where attendees were being told they could not possess that treasured pocket knife, or bring their backpack into the venue Knife Rights had set up a complimentary Knife Check.

The Knife check did not just save people trouble and knives. They stored backpacks, walking sticks, flashlights, and holsters. About the only thing they did not check were firearms. A boy scout group volunteered to aid in the check in process. As people lined up to see President Trump, the place got busy.

This was the second year that Knife Rights had set up a complimentary knife check for a Secret Service venue at the annual NRA meeting. I asked Doug Ritter how long he expected to continue with the service.  He said that Knife Rights would do it as long as there was a Secret Service controlled event at the NRA Meeting. A friend of mine predicted that Donald Trump would serve for two terms, and that a President Pence would serve two more after that.

Doug Ritter said: “From your mouth to God’s ears.”

These events may continue for quite a run.

Knife Rights is a powerhouse in reforming knife laws across the nation. Chairman Ritter says that they have opened up a “Second Front” in the war to restore the Second Amendment. Their success has been phenomenal for such a small, underfunded organization.  Operating on peanuts, they have been able to successfully lobby to eliminate unconstitutional restrictions on the ownership and carry of knives in 16 states in eight years. They have succeed in creating Constitutional Carry for knives in Arizona, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Alaska, and Kansas.

They have eliminated bans on switchblades, daggers, bowie knives, dirks, stilettos, and belt buckle knives.

It is hard to overstate their impact on knife law.

Knives are clearly arms protected by the Second Amendment.

This year lobbying is ongoing to reform knife law in several states.  A legal challenge to the ban on knives under a bizarre interpretation of knife law in New York City is at the appellate court.

If you own or carry a knife of any description, Knife Rights is fighting for your rights. The knife check is just one example of the work they are accomplishing.