Cuomo Vetoes Gravity Knife Bill

Folding knives are illegal in New York. But public defenders have long argued that gravity knives are different, because they're work tools used by electricians and carpenters. For the second year in a row, however, they lost that argument when Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed legislation Monday that would have carved out an exemption for these particular knives.

In a memo accompanying his veto, Cuomo stated that the bill would result in "greater confusion among law enforcement and knife owners," and "essentially legalize all folding knives."

Gravity knives get their name because they can be opened with a flick of a wrist. The bill would have legalized the type used by laborers, which have a bias toward closure and aren't as easy to open. Similar legislation was passed and vetoed last year.

Public defenders say 84 percent of those arrested for carrying the knives are black and Latino men. Martin LaFalce, with the Legal Aid Society, recalled a man arrested in 2011 for possessing a knife he bought at a Home Depot. He said he was stopped going to "install door knobs and door handles at a work site in New Jersey."

"The [Manhattan] DA's office charged him with felony possession of a weapon because he had a previous criminal conviction," Lafalce explained. The man served four years in prison.

He also said it's unfair that those carrying the knives can be arrested while big retail chains are allowed to sell them.

Manhattan Assemblyman Dan Quart, who sponsored the bill, called Cuomo's veto a "dark mark on our legislative process" because of the way communities of color are affected by "discriminatory arrests and prosecutions." He singled out the Manhattan DA for prosecuting too many poor people "for possessing this simple work tool."

But Joan Vollero, a spokeswoman for Manhattan DA Cy Vance, thanked the governor for his veto. 

“Given that one-third of the homicides committed in Manhattan last year were stabbings and slashings, the idea that we should have more knives on our streets and subways — particularly knives which can be flicked open in milliseconds — has always been mystifying," she said.

Vollero also noted that the DA encouraged compromises that would have allowed gravity knives to be used by workers who transport them in special containers, or that limit the size of the knives to under an inch and a half.

But public defenders said there's no proof that the slashings the DA's office referred to were due to gravity knives. LaFalce, at Legal Aid, said he reviewed over 1800 complaints that charged someone with using a weapon in a violent felony arrest and found gravity knives were used less than 1 percent of the time.

"I am hopeful that reasonable minds can prevail on this," he said, referring to what's sure to be another fight in Albany next year.