'Knife Rights' group takes a stab at the Second Amendment at Ninth Circuit

PASADENA, Calif. (CN) — Should you be able to carry a switchblade in public? An Arizona-based knife rights organization thinks so.

Knife Rights, Inc., argued in front of a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday in its appeal to reverse a lower court ruling that upheld the state of California’s prohibition on switchblades.

Knife Rights argued in its brief that the state ban on switchblades is unconstitutional and asked that the appeals court reverse two rulings made in federal court: that switchblades are not bearable “arms” under the Second Amendment, and that switchblades are “not in common use for lawful purposes” and are considered “dangerous and unusual.”

John Dillon, an attorney for Knife Rights, argued that the Second Amendment clearly covers weapons, such as knives, going as far back to the United States’ founding and that switchblades are commonly owned by Americans across the country.

“The simple application of Supreme Court precedence states that all bearable arms are protected by the Second Amendment,” Dillon said in a statement to Courthouse News after the hearing. “Once that question is answered, the burden shifts to the government to justify the law. In this case, the state has completely failed to justify the law.”

Attorneys for the state of California argue that the ban on switchblades is consistent with the traditional restriction on “dangerous weapons prone to criminal misuse.” Additionally, the state argued in its brief that switchblades don’t meet the threshold to be considered a self-defense weapon.

“Most people would not be able to use a switchblade effectively for self-defense,” California Deputy Attorney General Katrina Uyehara said in the state’s oral argument before the appeals court judges. “Specifically, in a high-adrenalized, close-combat scenario, with a handgun you can shoot from a distance, of course. You would require the slashing and targeting of specific nerves and specific ligaments for that knife to be effective for self-defense, and that makes it quite different.”

While it is not illegal to have a switchblade in one’s home in California, it is illegal to publicly possess or sell a switchblade, which is defined as a “pocketknife with a blade of 2 inches or longer that releases automatically.” The state’s law also bans gravity knives and butterfly knives, which are similar to switchblades but do not include a spring-loaded blade.

“Realistically, there’s no way to acquire a switchblade without violating the law in some fashion,” Dillon said in the hearing.

At the heart of Wednesday’s arguments was the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen , which established a new standard for evaluating Second Amendment claims. Under Bruen , courts must determine whether modern regulations are consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of regulation.” But first, plaintiffs must establish that the weapon is covered under the Second Amendment.

A federal court granted the state of California summary judgment against Knife Rights in August 2024, saying it failed to establish that switchblades were covered under the Second Amendment. Uyehara asked the Ninth Circuit judges on Wednesday to affirm that decision.

Also at play is the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller , which established weapons “in common use” while excluding those considered “dangerous and unusual.”

Dillon refuted the state’s argument that switchblades were more dangerous than any other type of weapon. There is no evidence that switchblades lead to higher rates of criminal violence, he said.

Though switchblades have been around since the 19th century, they entered the mainstream in American culture after WWII soldiers returning home from Europe brought them back, primarily from Italy, according to Knife Rights website. Following their popularity, the switchblade became synonymous with juvenile violence, appearing in knife fights in popular movies like “Rebel Without A Cause” and “West Side Story.”

Knife Rights claims its efforts have resulted in 58 bills that have repealed knife bans in 36 states since 2009. It initiated its lawsuit against California’s switchblade ban in 2023.

U.S. Circuit Judge Lucy Koh, a Biden appointee, and U.S. Circuit Judges Ronald M. Gould and Kim McLane Wardlaw, both Clinton appointees, comprised the panel.