Los Angeles Times: Sale of Box Cutters Under Scrutiny

[URL]http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-attacks-box-cutters1005oct05.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnation%2Dheadlines[/URL]

Sale of Box Cutters Under Scrutiny
By SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press Writer

October 5 2001, 3:03 AM PDT

ALBANY, N.Y. -- It's a simple and versatile tool for everyone from grocery
clerks to hobbyists. But in the wrong hands, box cutters can be lethal.

New scrutiny has been leveled on the razor-type gadgets over the past month
after allegations that the cheap and readily available tools were used to hijack
four airliners and a moving bus.

"Anything like that, you can't control what purpose they're used for," said Rich
White of Bridgeford Hardware in Albany, which normally sells a "handful" a week.

On Wednesday, a passenger on a Greyhound bus in Tennessee cut the driver's
throat, causing a crash that killed six of the 40 people aboard. The driver told
authorities the attacker used a box cutter.

That came a few weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Passengers who
placed cell phone calls from the jets said the hijackers also used box cutters.

Whether they confused box cutters with similar tools like utility or X-Acto
knives may never be known. The terms are used interchangeably, even by those who
sell them.

A typical box cutter holds the corner of a razor blade in a flat, rectangular
metal sheath not much bigger than a stick of gum. The 4-inch device is
lightweight, inexpensive and easily accessible.

X-Acto knives, favored by graphic artists, are roughly the size of a pen with a
smaller razor-like blade fastened to the end. Utility knives have a bigger
handle and replaceable blades stored in the handle.

Before Sept. 11, some of the gadgets could pass through airport metal detectors
without raising an eyebrow. The FAA had allowed any knife 4 inches long or less
on the plane.

States have long grappled with the use of such tools. Some such as New York,
Alabama and Virginia, define them as a "dangerous instrument" or "deadly weapon"
if someone uses them in a crime.

The New York City Council unanimously passed a law in 1995 prohibiting stores
from selling them to children under 18 and banning them from school grounds.

"We had an abundance of kids using them to cut people in schools, in gang
fights," said councilman Al Stabile, who sponsored the bill. "The numbers were
staggering."

To give the law more muscle, the city in 1998 increased the age to 21, limited
their sale to home improvement and hardware stores and banned them from all
public places.

Chicago law prohibits the sale of utility knives to anyone under 18. Possession
is limited, though minors can use utility knives at school, work or home under
the supervision of an adult.

Police in California say box cutters are commonly used as weapons there, too,
while Florida includes razor blades and box cutters in its list of weapons not
allowed on school grounds.

So far, the recent attacks have not affected box cutter sales largely because
the industry is so specialized, said Roger Stuart, president of Listo Corp. in
Alameda, Calif., which exports box cutters to Norway and Sweden.

___

On the Net:

NYC Mayor: http://www.nyc.gov
Copyright 2001 Associated Press

Hmm.......weren't the terrorists over 18 yo?

Buy your PreBan Box Cutters now!

I wonder how much longer we'll be able to own and privatley transfer 50 BMG's?

I prefer a postban box cutter.
I wonder if they will have to register them in Kali?

Hmm...this doesnt sound like a possible tongue-in-cheek hoax to anyone else does it? At least lets pray it is! [:)]

how can people be so stupid?


We shouldn't be leaving box cutters around.  Nor should they just be sold to any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

We need to be responsible as gun owners.  Let's get some legislation proposed and passed!  Box cutters and other sharp implements need to be registered!!!

Too many have died to let them remain on the street [USA]

Do it for the children!

Av.

[b][size=3][blue]Box Cutter Control Incorporated[b][size=3][/blue]

BCCI is calling for the following restrictions:

* - 10 day waiting period
* - limit 1 box cutter per month
* - box cutter sales limited to people over 21 yo
* - NICS check for all box cutter sales
* - no mail order box cutters
* - no high capacity box cutters - only 1 extra blade
* - minimum blade length of 2.35677"
* - maximum blade length of 3.21324"
* - ban on plastic "airport cheater" knives

This would so funny if I didn't these people are darned serious, but these folks are not laughing and are serious and saying are saying it with a straight face.

There is a box cutter sitting on the counter in our tech area. It's been there for over a week now, and hasn't attacked anyone yet. I'm keeping an eye on it though, and giving it a wide berth as I walk through the area.

Good thing no one was stabbed with a sharpened pencil. Very popular in the 50s by the way. One day people will realize ANYTHING can be a weapon and will take steps to address the fact that terrorist WILL BE ARMED, no matter what damn law you pass.

Maybe lock them up like cans of spray paint.

Are shoe laces next???????