Knife Rights’ bill to repeal Louisiana’s antiquated ban on the possession of switchblade knives, HB 892, passed a critical hurdle today. The bill passed the House Administration of Criminal Justice committee 12-2 with bipartisan support. (Note that HB 892 is the new bill number replacing HB 200 after the amendment was made to get it passed in committee)
Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs, Todd Rathner, was at the Louisiana state house lobbying for the past few days and testified in support of the bill. Numerous cards in support of the bill were also submitted. Todd negotiated an amendment to the bill with the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association and the Louisiana State Troopers which maintains the restriction on carrying a switchblade “intentionally concealed on one’s person.”
Allowing for the concealed carry of a switchblade in Louisiana is complicated because it would require a significant change to Louisiana’s concealed carry law. Knife Rights will continue to look for opportunities to fix this aspect of the law in the future.
Knife Rights would like to thank Dan Zelenka, President of the Louisiana Shooters Association, for his efforts in laying the groundwork for this bill. We’d also like to thank bill sponsor Representative Mark Wright for his tireless work to get us to this point. We are also grateful to Knife Rights board member and Louisiana resident Tom Gresham and Knife Rights member Clifford Grout for their roles in assisting us in this effort.
HB200 now heads to the house floor where we expect a vote in the coming days.
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Knife Rights’ record of 28 bills repealing knife bans at the state and local levels in 20 states in the past 8 years is unrivaled. With your support, Knife Rights is rewriting knife law in America™.