A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the 1958 Federal Switchblade Act’s ban on moving switchblade knives across state lines violates the Second Amendment.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that switchblades are “Arms” protected by the Second Amendment. The panel said the government failed to show the law fits the nation’s historical tradition of weapons regulation. The Washington Times first reported the ruling.
What the court decided
Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote the published opinion in Knife Rights v. Blanche. Judges Don Willett and Cory Wilson joined it. No judge dissented.
- Ruled unconstitutional: Section 1242, which makes it a federal crime to knowingly bring switchblades into interstate commerce, make them for that purpose, or transport or distribute them across state lines.
- Left in place: Section 1243, which bans making, selling or possessing switchblades in U.S. territories, Indian country and other areas under special federal jurisdiction. The court said the challengers failed to show that section has no lawful use.
- Next step: The court reversed a lower-court dismissal and sent the case back to the federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas, for further proceedings.
“Applying the framework articulated in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, we hold that the FSA is unconstitutional,” Elrod wrote.
Who brought the case
Knife Rights Inc., an advocacy group, sued in September 2024 along with two Texas businesses and five individuals. They named the U.S. Department of Justice as a defendant. A federal judge in Texas dismissed the lawsuit before the appeal.
A law from the 1950s
Congress passed the Federal Switchblade Act in 1958 during a national scare over juvenile crime. The opinion notes that the 1955 film “Rebel Without a Cause” featured a switchblade fight and fed a public view of the knives as gang weapons. The law set fines and prison terms of up to five years for interstate switchblade trafficking.
The law defines a switchblade as a knife whose blade opens automatically by a button in the handle, or by gravity or inertia. It exempts ordinary pocketknives and certain spring-assisted knives.
What it means for Arkansas
The Fifth Circuit hears federal appeals from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, so the ruling binds federal courts in those three states. Arkansas sits in the Eighth Circuit, which has not ruled on the question. State and local knife laws are separate from the federal act and are not affected by the decision.
The Justice Department can ask the full Fifth Circuit to rehear the case or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review it.
Sources: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; The Washington Times.
