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Disarming Americans One Law at a Time (ft. Krate Tactical)
Description
John and Kaylee sit down with Chris from Krate Tactical for an episode that runs from knife history to the grassroots fight for the Second Amendment. Chris has been in the firearms and self-defense industry for five years, most recently at the US Concealed Carry Association before joining Krate in October 2024. He walks through the company's origin: founders Mark and John started Krate Tactical in 2017 as e-commerce sellers who got hooked on shooting steel targets, figured out manufacturing and distribution, and built a reputation in USPSA and IDPA competition circles. The company makes steel targets, cardboard targets, reactive targets, and a growing line of out-the-front knives, with collector's edition designs that show up at events like GOALS.
The legal core of the episode is knife rights. Chris frames knife rights as the cousin of gun rights, both protected under the Second Amendment, and traces two waves of knife bans: the post-Civil War laws targeting dirks, daggers, and Bowie knives, and the 1958 federal Switchblade Act aimed at switchblades and balisongs. He describes the current renaissance as states roll those restrictions back, citing Wisconsin legalizing switchblades and balisongs at the same time it allowed concealed carry with a permit, and points listeners to Kniferights.org and the USCCA reciprocity map to check local laws. From his soapbox he argues that people intent on harm find a way regardless of the tool, using England's violent crime and knife-crime rates as his example, and pushes for addressing root causes like mental health rather than legislating objects out of existence.
The back half turns to strategy. Chris runs a range in Wisconsin called the Highlands, attached to a winery and music venue, where he introduces non-gun visitors to self-defense through non-lethal tools first, then moves them in bite-sized steps toward firearms. He and the hosts talk about moving people from anti-gun to neutral, the danger of accepting an incremental level of tyranny, campus carry, and how restrictions normalize the idea that a tool must be bad. Kaylee makes the grassroots case: politicians respond to pressure, the Second Amendment has to be on the ballot, and the Second Amendment sanctuary movement that started in Virginia spread county by county into constitutional carry. The episode closes on local races, GOA's role fighting national battles, and a Krate Tactical and GOA deal where part of the proceeds from each knife go back to GOA.
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Questions this episode answers
How did Krate Tactical get started, and who founded it?
Krate Tactical was founded in 2017 by Mark and John, who began as e-commerce sellers, got hooked on shooting steel targets, and learned manufacturing and distribution. The company built its reputation in USPSA and IDPA competition circles and makes steel, cardboard, and reactive targets plus a growing line of out-the-front knives.
Why are knife rights considered part of the Second Amendment?
Chris from Krate Tactical frames knife rights as the cousin of gun rights, with both protected under the Second Amendment. The argument is that the right to bear arms covers more than firearms, so the same principles that defend gun ownership also defend the right to carry knives.
What are the two historical waves of knife bans in the United States?
Chris traces two waves of knife bans: post-Civil War laws targeting dirks, daggers, and Bowie knives, and the 1958 federal Switchblade Act aimed at switchblades and balisongs. He describes the current period as a renaissance in which states are rolling those restrictions back.