![]() ![]() Despite what was on the books however, the law was loosely enforced as switchblades have and continue to be sold all over the state, and according to Michigan State Police Sgt. Prior to the new law, possession of an automatic knife was punishable by a $300 fine or up to one year in prison in the state of Michigan, and the only people allowed to legally carry them were police, military, and those missing a hand or arm. Years later in 2009, Amendment 1477 to the 1958 Act repealed the federal ban, and left it up to individual states to decide whether or not to ban automatic knives in their territory. The federal government then enacted the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958, which banned the import, export, and possession of all spring-assisted knives. Despite their not being as scary in real life and no quicker to deploy than legal one-handed opening folding knives, the negatively exaggerated hype about switchblades took its toll. ![]() The fear was further amplified when Hollywood saw these “toys that kill” as an opportunity to make movies about delinquent troublemakers such as Rebel Without A Cause, High School Confidential, and most famously West Side Story carrying their equally delinquent and troublemaking weapon of choice: the switchblade. The vilification of automatic knives began in the early 1950s when mass hysteria perpetuated by the media of the time about switchblade-toting street gangs who were out to kill everyone with their terrifyingly quick blades. Since 1958, automatic knives had been banned for civilian possession and everyday carry by federal law, punishable by a fine of $300 or up to one year in prison in the state of Michigan. ![]()
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