Washington, DC (November 5, 2012) – The 2012 election cycle has concluded with very little change. President Barak Obama was reelected to a 2nd term, the Democrats still hold a majority in the US Senate and the Republicans still hold the majority in the US House. In the Senate, the Republicans lost two seats; one going to a Democrat and the other going to an Independent. In the 113th Congress, the Senate will have 53 Democrats, 45 Republicans and 2 Independents. Senator-elect Angus King from Maine is the independent and it is expected that a majority of the time he will caucus with the Democrats. In the House of Representatives the Republicans will have 242 members and the Democrats will have 193 members. The leadership in the Senate is expected to stay the same within both caucuses. In the House, it is expected that the Republicans will continue with Speaker John Boehner, however in the Democratic Caucus, it is expected that they will have some change and if Rep. Pelosi decides to stay in her position of Minority Leader that she will have a challenge.
At the state level, several states had races for the state legislature. Of notable interest are the states the American Knife & Tool Institute watched both for offensive and defensive proposes:
New York – The legislators that AKTI is working with on proposed legislation that changes a number of the criminal penalties for possession of knives were reelected.
South Carolina – Representative Mike Pitts was reelected to another term. He has been a strong supporter of AKTI, introduced a preemptive bill for us, and attended our legislative briefing at the 2012 Blade Show.
Michigan – Representative Frank Foster was reelected to another term and had proposed pro knife legislation earlier this year in Michigan, however it is still in committee. AKTI expects that legislation will be moved forward in 2013.
Pennsylvania – Pro knife legislation was proposed this past year, but it also was not fully acted upon because the legislative calendar ran out. A number of representatives who were helpful in our efforts were reelected. They include:
Rep. Michele Brooks, the main sponsor of our legislation; Rep. Marc Gergely – a strong supporter of AKTI and a co-sponsor of Rep. Brook’s bill, and Rep. Jeff Pyle, a friend of AKTI and a supporter of pro knife legislation.
Thanks to all who voted and for your support of the AKTI and our bipartisan partners who are helping us remove laws the restrict knife rights or to clarify definitions and inconsistencies that limit our liberties.