August 24, 2024 – Gilbert, Arizona: I had my National Knife Day email ready to go on Friday when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California issued its decision in our lawsuit challenging California’s ban on switchblade (automatic) knives with a blade 2-inches and greater on Second Amendment grounds. We’re celebrating the freedom most of us in America enjoy to possess and carry whatever knife we want and the Court decides to issue a decision in an important knife related Second Amendment case challenging a ban on knives. Hmmmmm…
Not at all unexpectedly, unfortunately the Court chose to go well outside the Supreme Court precedent clearly established in Heller and Bruen and ruled against us. Click here to read the Court’s decision.
There are actually two good aspects to the ruling. As to the first, shockingly, the Court held that under the plain text analysis required by Bruen, automatically opening knives are not “arms” under the Second Amendment. According to the Court, only arms that are “in common use for self defense” are considered arms under the Second Amendment. Of course, this is not the constitutional analysis established and affirmed in the Heller and Bruen decisions. There’s no mention of “self defense” or “in common use” in the plain text of the Second Amendment (“commonality” is part of the historical analysis). To call the Court’s decision irrational and ludicrous is being nice. And, that’s not at all bad for us.
Bummer. Auto bans accomplish nothing in terms of public safety. They do allow for overzealous prosecutors to pad their conviction rates however.
Read the whole thing at KnifeRights.org
Court in California Hands Down Decision for National Knife Day!