In a series of some of the dumbest "clarifications" I have ever heard of -- to one of the dumbest laws I have ever heard of -- government Obamacrats have construed the 1958 Switchblade Knife Act in such a way as to prohibit the vast majority of pocket knives routinely sold in stores and carried by ordinary citizens.

Like me.

For many years I've owned the knife pictured here:

It's not a switchblade. I know what a switchblade is; a switchblade is a knife that opens automatically by means of a spring, the pressure of which is released by a switch. The knife I have -- like countless others of the same variety -- has to be opened manually, by directly moving the blade itself. The little post which protrudes from the blade is not a "switch" nor does it release any spring. The idea that this knife is now poised to be considered an illegal switchblade by the federal government is a classic lesson in how overregulated we have become, and in the tyrannical nature of those who implement and "interpret" regulations.

While I think this clearly reflects on the mindset of Barack Obama's people, the fact is that the law they're interpreting is insane to begin with. As Tiger Hawk observes,

The law is a relic of simpler and, in some respects, more authoritarian times. Something to remember.

It was testified that, practically speaking, there is no legitimate use for the switchblade to which a conventional sheath or jackknife is not better suited. This being the case, your committee believes that it is in the national interest that these articles be banned from interstate commerce. S.Rep. No. 1980, 85th Cong., 2d Sess., reprinted in 2 U.S. Code Cong. & Ad. News 1958, at 3435-37. As quoted by Precise Imports Corp. v. Kelly, 378 F.2d 1014, 1017 (2d Cir. N.Y. 1967).

I'm trying to be logical in analyzing this, but what has me scratching my head is why, if we assume a switchblade has no legitimate use to which another knife is not better suited, the law nonetheless exempts the police and the military:

Sections 1242 and 1243 of this title shall not apply to--
[...]
(3) the Armed Forces or any member or employee thereof acting in
the performance of his duty[.]

I'm trying to envision other reasons why a cop might want a switchblade-style knife. Maybe it save a couple of seconds in cutting through stuck seatbelts? No, because that purpose too would be shared by civilians. Once again, the added element of intimidation is the only thing I can come up with. It might cause suspects to surrender more quickly without a fight, and it might serve as a backup weapon in the event the officer's gun was dropped or jammed. Aren't civilians just as entitled to intimidate bad guys, and to have a backup weapon? Try as I might, I'm having a great deal of trouble understanding precisely why a citizen with a right to carry a gun or a knife has no right to carry a knife if it clicks open at the push of a button.

Am I being too logical?

Damn. I almost forgot about entertainment value. Are not switchblades entertaining for some people? The way they open and close is intriguing to watch, and they're probably considered very cool by a good chunk of the male population. Is having something which looks cool all that harmful? Sure, used as a knife it is a potentially dangerous weapon, but many kitchen knives are bigger and sharper, and capable of doing far more damage. (And as Glenn points out, the nannies are coming for them soon.)

But I guess Congress in 1958 did not consider entertainment to be a legitimate use. For civilians, at least. Might they have thought that the police and military should have a right to forms of entertainment not shared by the general public? I hope not. Anyway, the Switchblade Knife Act is a ridiculous law, probably fueled by silly hysteria related to too many busybody do-gooders goading each other into fits of group panic attacks after seeing "West Side Story." I don't mean to single out that lovely musical as a culprit, but it did help fuel a media-abetted "moral panic":

Switchblades are often covered by very specific laws-- enacted at times of moral panic by newspapers and films about knife use by criminals.[1] This was most prominent in the late 1950s, when films such as The Wild One in 1954, Rebel Without a Cause and High School Confidential in 1955, the Broadway play West Side Story and 12 Angry Men in 1957 all featured switchblades, and were closely followed by the US Switchblade Act of 1958 (a federal law; individual state laws differ widely). This US federal law was closely followed by the UK Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959.

Back to my knife. My most frequent use for it is as a letter opener. But I often use it as a work knife, because it's sharp and will cut through almost anything. It's handy as a box cutter, for electrical work, and it can be used to score sheet rock. Several times when I've been in dank and dirty crawl spaces I've been able to pull it out of my pocket, flip it open with one hand, and do repairs. It's versatile. Maybe a switchblade would be better; maybe not.

But my knife is not a switchblade, and for the government to say it is makes me very angry. This is tyranny. Another lost freedom. It might be seen as just one more "little thing" but as I discussed in this post, such "little things" are happening everywhere, all the time.

Once again, the nannies are coming. And they won't leave you alone in the privacy of your own home. Quite the contrary.

Butting into people's homes is what nannying is all about.