Knife Rights' Ohio Knife Law Preemption bill signed earlier this year by Gov. DeWine takes effect today. This is the culmination of years of Knife Rights' efforts in Ohio. Last year that resulted in the repeal of Ohio's ban on manufacture and sale of switchblades. That bill also cleared up the vague, confusing, and too often abused, Ohio law regarding carry of any knife by defining a knife, razor or cutting instrument as a "deadly weapon" or "weapon" ONLY if it is used as a weapon. That change also allowed concealed carry of knives in the state.

Knife Law Preemption now makes those reforms applicable statewide. Numerous cities and towns in Ohio are no longer able to ban knives that are perfectly legal under Ohio's statutes.

Knife Law Preemption is a Knife Rights criminal justice reform effort that repeals and prevents local ordinances more restrictive than state law which only serve to confuse or entrap law-abiding citizens traveling within or through the state. Preemption ensures citizens can expect consistent enforcement of state knife laws everywhere within a state.

Knife Rights passed the nation’s first Knife Law Preemption bill in Arizona in 2010 and has since passed preemption bills in Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and now, Ohio.

Knife Rights is America’s grassroots knife owners’ organization; leading the fight to Rewrite Knife Law in America™ and forging a Sharper Future for all Americans™. Knife Rights efforts have resulted in 39 bills passed repealing knife bans in 25 states and over 150 cities and towns since 2010.