Originally conceived and authored by Knife Rights in 2010 and introduced in 2013 as the first proactive pro-knife federal legislation in the nation’s history, Knife Rights’ Knife Owners’ Protection Act of 2024, H.R. #TBD and S. #TBD (KOPA), was introduced today by Rep. Andy Biggs and Sen. Mike Lee.
KOPA would protect law-abiding knife owners traveling throughout the U.S. from the vagaries of restrictive state and local laws. If possession of the knife is legal where the journey starts and ends, and provided the knife is secured in accordance with KOPA, a knife owner would no longer be threatened with arrest simply for traveling from one place to another even if passing through a jurisdiction where the knife is illegal. Click for KOPA FAQ.
This represents the first step in this latest effort to work towards passage of this important legislation, an example of Knife Rights’ perseverance that’s required to get bills passed. With the election of Donald Trump and a Republican majority in both houses of Congress next session, 2025 may be the year to get this done. These bills tee up KOPA for next year.
Additional co-sponsors are: Representatives Jeff Duncan and Andy Ogles.
Rep. Biggs said, “The government must not discourage interstate travel and commerce by subjecting law-abiding knife owners to the fear of prosecution under the myriad patchwork of state and local knife laws. Americans are guaranteed the right to protect themselves, their families, and their businesses by the Second Amendment, and we must ensure that those rights are protected. I’m thankful for Senator Lee’s leadership on this issue in the Senate and for the support of my colleagues as we work to move this bill through Congress.”
Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter said, “Those who travel this country with knives for work, recreation and self-defense are presently subject to arrest and prosecution under a confusing patchwork of inconsistent state and local laws. What is perfectly legal in one place may be a serious crime in another, resulting in forfeiture of the knife and carrying significant penalties including jail time. Enforcement is not uniform even within jurisdictions and is too often subject to the vagaries of political expediency.”
Knife Rights developed the Knife Owners’ Protection Act to address this absurd situation in a commonsense manner that is fair and equitable and is based on established legislative and legal precedent. We’ve fought hard to repeal bans on knife possession and carry in the individual states, cities and towns, but despite 49 bills repealing knife bans in 31 states and over 200 cities and towns, as well as a number of court victories, that fight is hardly finished. KOPA represents a key initiative to protect law-abiding knife owners simply passing through areas where possessing a commonly owned knife may result in arrest and prosecution.
The current situation with knives is similar to the circumstances with guns that existed prior to the passage of the Firearms Owner Protection Act (FOPA -18 USC 926A) in 1986, when Congress acted to protect law-abiding gun owners from a similar inconsistent patchwork of laws. FOPA insulated their travels if firearms possession was lawful at both the origin and destination of travel.
Ritter noted “FOPA provides no protection whatsoever to knife owners, so they are defenseless from the same perils. It is entirely possible that a sportsman or woman traveling with both firearms and knives who follows FOPA’s requirements to the letter and also locks up their knives in an abundance of caution, could be insulated against prosecution for firearms possession, yet be arrested and prosecuted for knife possession. That is a ridiculous situation. KOPA simply aims to protect knife owners in a similar manner as KOPA protects firearm owners.”
However, hard lessons learned after years of abuse of FOPA by some courts means that unlike FOPA, KOPA has teeth to defend those who travel under its protection. KOPA provides penalties for law enforcement, prosecutors and others who ignore the protections provided. A falsely arrested person can be compensated for the expense of defending themselves from an unwarranted violation of the rights that Congress has protected in KOPA.
KOPA also closes the many holes punched in FOPA by some anti-2A Federal circuits that coincidentally include states and cities with some of the nation’s most restrictive knife laws. Without these improvements, KOPA would not be worth the paper it is printed on in these vexatious states and cities.
No protections would be afforded to anyone involved in criminal activity. KOPA also does notoverride TSA regulations; knives must be in checked baggage.
Click here to read a FAQ on KOPA with additional details and background.
Knife Rights continues to lead the way with proactive legislative action to defend and protect knife owners’ rights. KOPA is another example of our efforts to forge a Sharper Future for all Americans.