A federal appeals court unanimously ruled on Friday that states may prohibit specific pocketknives.
As these instruments are historically weapons of self-defense and thus should be “arms,” Second Amendment advocates closely watched the proceedings in Knife Rights v. Bonta. Judge Kim Wardlaw wrote that the California switchblade ban survived the Bruen test as applied.
California is one of the few remaining states that continues to outlaw many bladed weapons
“Today, we decide only that Plaintiff’s facial challenge to California’s switchblade regulations fails,” Wardlaw declared in the 31-page ruling. “Our Nation’s historical tradition supports California’s prohibition against the concealed carry of switchblades, punishable by up to six months of imprisonment or a fine, or both.”
California is an outlier that continues to cling to oppressive restrictions on switchblades and similar weapons. It was hoped that this challenge would be the end of the Golden State’s aversion to this traditional category of arms.
Instead, it is another example of an appellate court upholding weapon restrictions despite Bruen’s guidance.
Appeals court determined that there was enough precedent to justify the ban
State law defines a switchblade as a knife with a blade at least 2 inches long that automatically opens—spring-assisted or not. It is illegal and punishable as a misdemeanor to possess a switchblade in public, have one in a vehicle, or attempt to sell one.
Advocacy group Knife Rights and its partners filed a lawsuit in 2023 to challenge the California prohibition. The Ninth Circuit determined that switchblades do not fit the criteria needed for Second Amendment protection, and while the appeals court concurred, it offered a new line of reasoning.
The judges did not determine whether switchblades are protected arms. Instead, they used the Bruen test and concluded that there are enough similar laws in the nation’s historical tradition to justify the prohibition.
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