The U.S. Supreme Court in 2008’s District of Columbia v. Heller determined that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms “in common use.”
Subsequent court rulings applied this standard to knives, which are standard “arms” for millions of Americans. A long-running question asks if switchblades are included, and that quandary is now before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last week, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) filed a powerful amicus brief in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Bondi before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Court avoided applying the Bruen standard to switchblade prohibition
The groups want to reverse the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas when it upheld the Federal Switchblade Act (FSA).
That district court ruled that the plaintiffs only had standing to challenge the FSA ban on interstate commerce of switchblades. It followed precedent by assuming that switchblades are indeed “arms” and therefore law-abiding citizens have a limited right to purchase and possess them.
Further, as only interstate commerce of switchblades is prohibited, the federal law does not result in an all-out ban. Still, the FSA was upheld.
2A advocacy groups join forces to challenge federal ban on interstate commerce of switchblades
According to the NRA, “all arms regulations must be justified by historical tradition under Bruen, including laws regulating commercial transactions. Lower courts cannot carve out certain regulations and insulate them from the proper constitutional inquiry. What is more, evaluating how severely a regulation burdens the right to keep and bear arms is one of the metrics used to determine whether a modern law fits within the historical tradition of arms regulation—the severity of the burden does not determine whether the right is implicated in the first place.”
This sentiment was echoed by SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros.
“Building on our recent amicus brief in a similar case in the Ninth District challenging California’s switchblade ban, our filing in the Fifth Circuit explains that switchblades are plainly ‘arms’ under the Second Amendment’s text, fitting Founding-era definitions of weapons for offense or defense,” Moros declared.
He duly noted that there is no historical tradition of banning switchblades and that the FSA “unconstitutionally infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms for self-defense and other lawful purposes.”
SAF Founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb emphasized the importance of challenging the switchblade ban.
“This case is crucial because it addresses whether federal laws can override Second Amendment protections that millions of Americans use for self-defense, utility, and other lawful activities,” Gottlieb noted. “Following our support in the Ninth Circuit case, we’re continuing to defend these rights through amicus briefs and litigation nationwide, ensuring lower courts adhere to the Supreme Court’s guidance instead of undermining it.”
The NRA and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) recently intervened in a similar case, Knife Rights Inc. v. Bonta, before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
According to that brief, “The Supreme Court held that bans on common arms violate the Second Amendment in District of Columbia v. Heller. Analyzing the Second Amendment’s plain text, Heller determined that the Second Amendment extends to all bearable arms.”
Including switchblades.
What should be obvious is that the Second Amendment applies to all bearable arms, which switchblades certainly are. And according to Bruen’s clear guidance, any 2A-related restriction must be supported by the nation’s historical tradition of weapon regulations.
In other words, no twisting the law and precedent into pretzels to try to justify stripping Second Amendment rights away.
Arms must be viewed under the prism of “common use” and “dangerous and unusual,” and switchblade bans clearly violate this standard.
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