The Switchblade Act of 1958 was put into place for political reasons only. Many find the outdated law useless since crime hasn't declined, nor has ownership of the knife. Guns are perfectly legal to carry, which cause more violent crimes and tragedies (i.e. Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook etc) than any knife ever will, yet if a switchblade is found one may be charged with felonies. Law abiding citizens should have the same rights to own and carry switchblade knives as they do with guns. The outdated law should be repealed for the following reasons ; A switchblade is a practical tool More owned for show than use An easy personal protection tool. The switchblade should be able to be carried on ones person with the same laws and regulations as other pocket knives, and should be carried without the fear of felonies, fines and incarceration. I want to be able to own and carry knives that I like and that I would love to use on a daily basis. A switch blade or OTF ( out the front) knife is no different from any other pocket knife nowadays. A manual flipper knife on bearings can open just as fast as a automatic knife can. But for working situations or the cold weather where others along with myself are wearing gloves and we can't open our flipper knives because there just isn't enough leverage through our big thick gloves. This is where a automatic knife can come in handy since I can push it open with my thumb and close it back with it as well. I understand that the law was made to prevent crime and to make the area safer but crime will always be a problem and anyone can still carry a knife and do harm if they had that foul intention. Alot of people in NYC along with anywhere else that has this law would love to carry their own automatic knife. I don't want to have to worry about going to jail or getting a fine for simply carrying a tool on me that the government deems dangerous and unlawful because the point of the matter is that, any knife can be used in a harmful scenario, but majority of us and by us I mean the knife community, see knives as tools and not weapons. We rely on them to get through our day.