Switchblade exemption urged for one-armed

AUGUSTA, Maine, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A legislator wants Maine to let one-armed people carry switchblades, which are banned.

State Rep. Sheryl Briggs told the Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal the state should comply with a federal law that lets people with one arm own and carry switchblades with a blade of 3 inches or less.

"Obviously, people with just one arm cannot open anything but that type of a blade, that type of a knife," she said. "So all we're asking is for the people with one arm to be exempt."

A switchblade opens automatically by hand pressure or being dropped. Maine currently outlaws possession or sale of such weapons.

Briggs said one-armed lawyer Paul Dumas Jr. asked her to introduce the bill.

"It's a spinoff currently of federal law," he said. "If I had a spring-assisted knife and I was in federal jurisdiction, I wouldn't be breaking the law, but under Maine law I would be. ... It gets tough to open up a knife one-handed. I use my teeth sometimes, and that isn't very safe."

A House committee plans a hearing on the measure next week.