By: Scott D. Wilson
The Fifth Circuit held that a substantial portion of the Federal Switchblade Act (FSA) violates the Second Amendment because it improperly restricts the possession and interstate commerce of switchblade knives. Applying the Supreme Court’s framework from New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the court examined whether switchblades are protected “arms” under the text of the Second Amendment and, if so, whether the government could justify the restrictions by demonstrating a historical tradition of similar regulation.
The court first concluded that switchblade knives fall within the meaning of “arms” protected by the Second Amendment. The opinion emphasized that knives have long been recognized as common defensive tools and that the Constitution’s protection is not limited to firearms. Because switchblades are bearable weapons commonly owned by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, they fall within the Amendment’s scope.
Under Bruen, once the conduct at issue is covered by the Second Amendment’s text, the burden shifts to the government to identify historical analogues supporting the challenged regulation. The government argued that historical restrictions on certain dangerous weapons justified the FSA. The Fifth Circuit rejected that argument, finding that the historical evidence did not establish a tradition of banning or severely restricting ownership and commerce in knives comparable to switchblades. While some historical regulations addressed the misuse of particular weapons or prohibited carrying them in specific circumstances, the court found no sufficiently analogous tradition supporting broad federal restrictions on switchblades.
The court also noted that modern concerns about switchblades often stem from perceptions developed during the mid-twentieth century, when such knives were associated with criminal activity and popular culture depictions of gang violence. However, the court explained that contemporary policy concerns cannot substitute for the historical inquiry required by Bruen. Constitutional analysis must rest on history and tradition rather than legislative judgments about a weapon’s perceived dangerousness.
As a result, the Fifth Circuit determined that key provisions of the Federal Switchblade Act impermissibly burden conduct protected by the Second Amendment. The decision reinforces the principle that constitutional protection extends beyond firearms to other commonly possessed weapons and underscores the judiciary’s obligation to evaluate weapons regulations through the historical-tradition test established in Bruen. More broadly, the ruling signals that federal and state restrictions on knives and other non-firearm weapons may face heightened constitutional scrutiny when challenged under the Second Amendment.
The case is Knife Rights, Inc. v. Todd Blanche, No. 25-10754, decided on October 21, 2026.
