![]() The NYPD commissioner says it's still illegal to have a gravity knife in the subway. There were 885 gravity knife arrests arraigned by Legal Aid in the first six months of 2018 and 88% of people arrested for gravity knife possession are people of color. It says New Yorkers of color are targeted. Bead blasted titanium handle with textured micarta scales in black. Pivoted frame to allow blade deployment with nothing but gravity. The Legal Aid Society issued a report on caseload data for gravity knife arrests and prosecutions between January and June of 2018. Reate EXO Double Edge Gravity Knife Titanium/Black Micarta (3.75' Satin) Features: Satin-finished double-edged bayonet blade made from Elmax super steel. ![]() Regardless of its history, users of the butterfly or balisong knife can perform amazing flipping tricks. One group believes the knife was first created in the Philippines others find support that its roots are in France. There are two theories regarding the origin of the butterfly knife. In March, a federal court ruling found the previous ban to be unconstitutional, reasoning that the existing law could result in "discriminatory enforcement" and was vague. To open the knife, one uses gravity or centrifugal force. ![]() Grip the handle to 'lock' the blade for use. Operation is simple and fidget friendly, let the frame drop from the yoke and the blade slides freely in its track to open and close. Andrew Cuomo vetoed similar bills twice, but this time, he signed, saying "the legal landscape has changed." The exceedingly popular Exoskeleton Design Reate EXO is a simple, inventive manual out-the-front knife consisting of a titanium frame, inlaid yoke and the blade. After 7 years, we have finally managed to overhaul New York’s outdated and discriminatory pocket knife ban.This was the third time the Legislature sought to remove criminal sanctions associated with possessing the knives.įLASHBACK: Assemblyman Launches New Push To Reform Gravity Knife Law ![]() 1 This mechanism of opening is fundamentally different from the switchblade, which extends its spring-propelled blade automatically upon the push of a button, switch, or fulcrum lever. "That said, I’m glad the Governor finally signed this law so that others coming up behind me don’t need to go through what happened to me."Īdded Assemblyman Dan Quart, who sponsored the bill, "The third time really is the charm. A gravity knife is a knife with a blade contained in its handle, and that opens its blade through the force of gravity. “As someone who was arrested and spent time in jail for carrying a knife I used as a construction worker, I think this law should have been repealed long ago," said Mark Moses, a community leader with VOCAL-NY, in a statement. "While I remain aware of the cautious community voices, I cannot veto a bill passed by the Legislature to address a decided constitutional infirmity in existing law, as recently affirmed by a federal court," Cuomo said.Īdvocates and elected officials celebrated the reversal, while at the same time wondering why the governor spent so long upholding a ban that he now deems "absurd." District Judge Paul Crotty harshly criticized the unreliable “wrist-flick test"-an imprecise standard used by both the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance to see whether the folding knives require force to open. Specifically, the governor cited a federal court ruling this past March that found the law to be unconstitutionally vague. So, what's changed? The legal landscape, according to Cuomo. In a statement on Thursday, the governor said that "uniform opposition of the State's law enforcement entities and mayors" had left him "constrained to veto similar bills." Efforts to lift the ban were strongly opposed by the NYPD and police unions, as well as prosecutors such as Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. In recent years, the state legislature has twice passed legislation to decriminalize the knives, which Cuomo has vetoed on both occasions. Progressive activists, public defenders and some elected officials have long argued that the ban unfairly targets blue-collar service employees-including construction workers, chefs, and day laborers-who use folding knives for work.Įvidence also suggests the law has been disproportionately enforced against people of color: analyses from both the Legal Aid Society and the Village Voice found that the vast majority of people charged with gravity knife possession in New York are black and Hispanic. The legislation will end the criminal prohibition on certain folding pocket knives, which are commonly sold in stores across New York, but have been illegal to possess in the state since 1958. The knife sports a 3.93 handle with a hinged outer lock that pivots open, allowing its blade to pivot out from the opposite end of the knife. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Thursday to decriminalize gravity knives, following years of pressure from criminal justice advocates and a recent federal court ruling that found the existing law to be overly vague. Designed by a legendary Italian knife-maker, the Roberto Ottonello Gravity Knife is a high-end drop knife with a sleek minimalist design and a mirror-polished finish.
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