Knife Rights and its fellow plaintiffs have filed their Motion for Summary Judgement in their federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of portions of the Federal Switchblade Act (Title 15 Chapter 29 §1241) under the Second Amendment.

The Plaintiffs have requested that the Court issue an order finding the Federal Switchblade Act is unconstitutional and that the challenged aspects of the law involving restrictions on interstate commerce and on Native American reservations, as well as U.S. territories and government lands, be permanently enjoined. The lawsuit does not challenge the existing import ban which would not be disturbed.

Click to read the Summary Judgment Motion + Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Points and Authorities

Click to download the the Appendices (1092 pages, 138MB)

Originally enacted in 1958, the Act restricts the introduction into interstate commerce of common automatically opening (“switchblade”) knives. It also bans their possession on Native American reservations and in U.S. territories and on U.S. lands. The definition of a “switchblade knife” includes gravity knives and butterfly knives.

Joining Knife Rights in the case are members Russell Arnold, Jeffery Folloder, Evan Kaufmann, Rodney Shedd, and Adam Warden and retailer members RGA Auction Services d.b.a. Firearm Solutions and MOD Specialties. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys John W. Dillon at the Dillon Law Group and R. Brent Cooper at Cooper & Scully.

Named as defendants are Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the United States, and the United States Department of Justice. The lawsuit, Knife Rights, Inc. v. Garland, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Click to read the original post that explains full details and background of the lawsuit.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Knife Rights Unconstitutional Switchblade Bans Chronicles.

These court battles are primarily funded by the 501(c)(3) Knife Rights Foundation. Please consider making a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION to the Foundation to help us out. If you’d like to help support these lawsuits, please donate at KnifeRights.org/donate or call us toll-free at 866-889-6268 (10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Pacific). Or, you can DONATE for a chance to WIN in our Ultimate Steel Year End Drawing (not tax-deductible).

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 49 bills enacted repealing knife bans in 31 states and over 200 cities and towns since 2010.