Todd Rathner, Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs, spent his fifth week in Texas this year working to get SB 2381 out of the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee. It was passed out by a vote of 4-2. SB 2381 would remove from statute a number of places where Location-Restricted Knives are banned. The locations being removed includes restaurants and bars that derive 51% of their income from sale or service of alcoholic beverages, amusement parks and places of religious worship. The House companion bill, HB 2342, is still pending before the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and should be voted on in the coming days.
Knife Rights will let you know as soon as it is appropriate to contact your Texas lawmakers to support these bills.
In 2013 Knife Rights’ repeal of Texas’ switchblade ban was enacted. In 2015 Knife Rights’ signature Knife Law Preemption was enacted, nullifying all local knife ordinances more restrictive than Texas state law, including two of the “10 Worst Anti-Knife Cities in America” at the time, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. In 2017 our bill removed all of the “illegal knives” in Texas law, finally allowing Texans the right to carry a Bowie knife, dagger and others in public.
Unfortunately, in 2017 as a result of a tragic University of Texas stabbing just blocks from the Capitol during the legislative process, a minor amendment was added to stipulate that knives with blades over 5 1/2 inches are now defined as “location-restricted knives.” These knives may be carried throughout the state except in a narrow list of places such as schools, colleges, correctional facilities, amusements parks, houses of worship, and bars that derive more than 51% of their income from alcohol sales, as well as some other locations. Minors are also restricted as to when they can carry these knives. CLICK HERE for a complete listing of the current bans for Location-Restricted Knives.