Legislative Update

Huge Win! In a major victory for Knife Rights and knife owners across America, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that Section 1242 of the Federal Switchblade Act (FSA) violates the Second Amendment;  “Applying the framework articulated in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, we hold that the FSA [Federal Switchblade Act] is unconstitutional.”   In Knife Rights, … Continued... Read More

Knife Rights has launched a federal Second Amendment challenge to overturn New Jersey’s insane and morally indefensible laws banning self-defense with knives, as well as all other non-firearm weapons such as pepper spray, stun guns, billys, knuckles, blackjacks and hundreds of other common every-day objects that might be used as improvised weapons. This includes baseball bats, golf clubs, hammers and screwdrivers, as but a few examples, all of which New Jersey criminalizes when carried in anticipation of possible self-defense. … Continued... Read More

There is something about facing one’s own mortality that helps focus one’s mind on what’s really important. As some of you are aware, I was diagnosed with Light Chain Multiple Myeloma (a blood cancer) back the middle of March. Nothing like a serious cancer diagnosis to turn one’s life upside down. I have now completed the first stage of treatment which included 4 months of chemo and then a stem cell transplant with a 12-day hospital stay. … Continued... Read More

Knife Rights submitted a request for an extension of the filing deadline in our appeal of the Ninth Circuit’s absurd panel ruling and denial of en banc review in our case challenging California’s switchblade ban under the Second Amendment.  A cert petition is the formal request asking SCOTUS to review that ruling and denial.  On September 11th Justice Kagan granted our request, and the cert petition is now due December 14th.  … Continued... Read More

The Supreme Court of the United States accepted a pair of consolidated cases—Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins (referred to as “Viramontes”) involving the constitutionality under the Second Amendment of bans on semi-automatic AR-15 and similar rifles, with oral argument December 2nd and a decision likely by June, 2027.  We are uniquely positioned to present a critical issue in ourAmicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) Brief, … Continued... Read More

Last week Knife Rights submitted a comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking by the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau). The ATF proposed to amend Department of Justice regulations to clarify that, for purposes of transporting firearms interstate, any activities that are reasonably necessary to transportation such as staying overnight in temporary lodging, stopping for food, fuel, vehicle maintenance, an emergency, or medical treatment, or transiting between modes of transportation, … Continued... Read More

Following the en banc Third Circuit’s landmark ruling that New Jersey’s “assault firearm” ban and its ban on magazines holding more than ten rounds both violate the Second Amendment Knife Rights has filed Notices of Supplemental Authority under Rule 28(j) in our Second Amendment challenges to the Federal Switchblade Act and Minnesota’s total ban on switchblades. That opinion lays out and applies the law as to arms bans perfectly, supporting Knife Rights’ arguments in its Second Amendment cases. … Continued... Read More

Twenty years ago a single newspaper article changed the course of knife owners’ civil rights in America. On July 25, 2006, I opened The Wall Street Journal  (yes, back then we got a real paper printed on dead trees) to read an outrageous and highly inflammatory headline article entitled “How New, Deadly Pocketknives Became a $1 Billion Business.” Filled with distortions, misrepresentations, innuendo, cherry-picked quotes, and outright falsehoods, … Continued... Read More

The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing in our lawsuit challenging California’s switchblade ban on Second Amendment grounds. While disappointing, the denial was not a surprise. However, the order denying rehearing was accompanied by two scathing dissents that take the Ninth to task over their lack of respect for the Second Amendment and U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Together, they are a win of sorts for going forward with this case. The three-judge appeals panel decision, … Continued... Read More

Recent Second Amendment decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals have resulted in the filing of Notices of Supplemental Authority under Rule 28(j) in all three of Knife Rights’ federal lawsuits challenging knife bans as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. These are our challenges to California’s 2-inch and over ban on switchblades, Minnesota’s total ban on switchblades and the Federal Switchblade Act. Critically, the courts reaffirmed and clarified controlling Second Amendment precedents that apply in our cases. … Continued... Read More

Knife Rights’ Second Amendment challenge to Minnesota’s unconstitutional switchblade ban took a significant step forward last Friday as the State faced intense scrutiny from the court during oral argument on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. From the outset, it was clear the court had serious concerns with Minnesota’s position. Counsel for the State opened argument, but was immediately met with pointed questioning from the court, particularly regarding the State’s attempt to rewrite the Second Amendment’s “textual inquiry.” … Continued... Read More

Both sides have now filed their final briefs in our Second Amendment lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s complete ban on switchblades. The state’s brief did little more than restate the arguments made in their original motions, adding little to nothing substantively; nor did they raise any new arguments in response to the Plaintiffs’ motions. Defendants’ Reply Brief Plaintiffs’ Final Reply Brief In our final brief we expanded upon our arguments against the State’s attempts to rewrite the governing Second Amendment framework by imposing requirements that the Supreme Court not only never required but even explicitly rejected. … Continued... Read More

On Wednesday, April 1st, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral argument in our appeal of the District Court’s irrational decision in our Second Amendment challenge to the constitutionality of the Federal Switchblade Act (except the import ban). The judges had pointed questions for both sides. But, while they expressed concerns over the scope of the plaintiffs’ challenge and their standing to bring the case, the three judges were very skeptical of the government’s expansive reading of its authority to regulate. … Continued... Read More

Listen in! The critical oral argument in our appeal of the District Court’s irrational decision in our Second Amendment challenge to the constitutionality of the Federal Switchblade Act will be held April 1st during the afternoon session that starts at 1:00 PM CDT. We are scheduled number three and the last case heard. It’s not possible to be sure when our case will be up, but likely around 3:00 PM CDT if things goes as normal, … Continued... Read More

Responding to Minnesota’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Knife Rights and its fellow plaintiffs have filed their own Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition To Defendants’ Cross-Motion, and Motion To Exclude Defendants’ Expert Witness Testimony, revealing to the court Attorney General Ellison’s utter disrespect for the law. AG Ellison is making up from whole cloth an imaginary statute that does not exist and then uses that to claim that Minnesota’s switchblade ban is constitutional. … Continued... Read More

Knife Rights and its fellow appellants have filed a petition for rehearing En Banc (the full court) of the twisted decision by the Ninth Circuit Panel in their lawsuit challenging California’s ban on switchblade (automatic) knives with a blade 2 inches and greater on Second Amendment grounds. The petition argues that the panel disregarded binding U.S. Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit precedent by transforming California’s categorical ban into a fabricated concealed-carry law, … Continued... Read More

It’s been 16 months of preliminary procedural matters since Knife Rights filed its federal lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s complete ban on switchblades (automatically opening knives). We are finally entering the actual motions phase. The state of Minnesota has filed its Motion for Summary Judgment. In its motion for summary judgment, Minnesota argues that the switchblade ban is constitutional because switchblades allegedly fall outside the Second Amendment’s protection. … Continued... Read More

In a not very shocking result, the Ninth Circuit panel has ruled against Knife Rights in our appeal of the ludicrous District Court decision in our lawsuit challenging California’s ban on switchblade (automatic) knives with a blade 2 inches and greater on Second Amendment grounds. The decision by a panel of two Clinton and one Biden appointees is disappointing and contrary to the plain text of the Second Amendment and the clear guidance provided by the Supreme Court in Heller and Bruen. … Continued... Read More

Washington state’s draconian knife ban bill from last year, SB 5098, has reared its ugly head again, as we told you might happen. The bill failed to get a floor vote before last year’s legislature ended. Now it is back and due to the way Washington’s legislature works, the amendment we worked so hard to insert in the bill to protect knife carriers to a significant extent went away. The original bill that would ban possession of “any knife” on over 6.5 million acres of public land in Washington, … Continued... Read More

Knife Rights has filed its Appellants’ Reply Brief in our challenge to the constitutionality of the Federal Switchblade Act under the Second Amendment (except for the import ban). The Department of Justice’s embarrassingly absurd Response Brief laid itself wide open to attack, and attack we did, slicing and dicing, leaving its bloody carcass on the courthouse steps. The DOJ almost entirely abandoned any opposition to Plaintiffs’ standing and also rejected the district court’s outrageous ruling that the FSA doesn’t serve as a “‘de facto prohibition on possession’ of switchblade knives.” The DOJ conceded that the FSA “generally prohibits the interstate sale of . … Continued... Read More

Instead of a stocking filled with joy, Trump’s Department of Justice dumped lumps of coal in Knife Rights’ stocking with their disappointing response brief continuing their Biden-like anti-Second Amendment stance defending the unconstitutional Federal Switchblade Act. Despite the administration’s lukewarm Second Amendment support in some firearms cases, Trump’s DOJ still hasn’t got the memo that “shall not be infringed” means exactly that. This administration supports the Second Amendment with one hand but attempts to strip it with the other. … Continued... Read More