Salt Lake City, UT. (August 5, 2011) – CJ Buck, AKTI Legislative Chair, recently represented the American Knife & Tool Institute at the Governors’ Sportsmen Caucus held in Salt Lake City, UT. Governors in attendance included: Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont, Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Gov. Matt Mead of Wyoming, Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa, Gov. Bev Perdue of North Carolina, Gov. Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota, Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Gov. Sean Parnell of Alaska.
“Many of these Governor’s are avid sportsmen and realize the importance of knives in the pursuit of outdoor activities and with emergency preparedness,” CJ Buck commented on his first time attending the annual event.
“CJ’s role representing AKTI at the Governors’ Caucus is invaluable in our efforts to work effectively with legislators in every state to assure that all knife laws are reasonable and responsible,” noted AKTI President Bill Raczkowski. “AKTI is proud to be affiliated with the Congressional Sportmen’s Caucus as our first ‘American Knife & Tool Institute Advocacy Partner.’”
The Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus consists of 22 Governors from both parties and geographically spread throughout the country representing the outdoor constituency, including “many of America’s nearly 40 million hunters and anglers who contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, spending more than $76 billion dollars a year on hunting and fishing”, according to a Congressional Sportmen’s Foundation release.
A bipartisan leadership team of governors is lead by Co-Chairs Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Vice-Chairs New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe
CJ Buck had the opportunity to explain to the Governors that “Laws should be clear and understandable, so that the people who are trying to be prepared do not have to wonder if the knife they have is legal or not, and AKTI is working with lawmakers to do just that.”