Fifth Circuit: Federal Switchblade Ban Violates the Second Amendment¶
What happened. In Knife Rights, Inc. v. Blanche, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that switchblade knives are "arms" protected by the Second Amendment. It also held that the government failed to justify the Switchblade Act's interstate-commerce restrictions, 15 U.S.C. § 1242. The court reversed the dismissal of that claim and sent it back for further proceedings. It affirmed dismissal of the facial challenge to § 1243, which covers certain federal jurisdictions.
Why it matters. The court said the right to keep arms includes the right to acquire them. That principle reaches well beyond knives.