Another Useless Weapon Ban Attempt

Not content with simply enforcing the archaic 1958 law against importing switchblades, the Obama administration is planning to expand the prohibition. Its changes would

expand the 50-year-old ban on importing "switchblades" to include folding knives that can be opened with one hand, stirring fears the government may on the path to outlawing most pocket knives.

Aside from being unnecessary and idiotic, the expanded ban could turn a bunch of ordinary people into criminals.

Critics of the rule say that broadening the definition of switchblades in federal law would instantly make previously permitted knives illegal in states that have adopted the ban. Hunters and hikers who cross state lines with their knives in tow may find themselves guilty of a federal felony, they warn.

You have to wonder if there is any rationale behind the ban at all, other than the usual big government impulse to keep as many weapons as possible out of the hands of ordinary citizens. Not only should the ban not be expanded, but it should be repealed entirely. I'm sure the average gang member, with his arsenal of illegal firearms, is sitting around thinking: if only I could get a switchblade. I'd be unstoppable! Knife bans of any kind are ludicrous, especially when far more effective weapons are readily available to anyone who wants them -- well, except for law-abiding citizens who actually obey weapon bans.