Ruling comes in legal challenge seeking to declare California’s ban on switchblades to be unconstitutional
A San Diego federal judge has ruled that California’s ban on knives that automatically open is lawful, and that the weapons more commonly known as switchblades are not protected by the Second Amendment because they’re dangerous, unusual and not commonly used for self-defense.that have outlawed most switchblades since 1957. The judge granted the state’s motion for summary judgment and denied the plaintiffs’ same motion.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the named defendant in the case who is responsible for defending the state law, did not respond to a request for comment. California is one of the last states to still outlaw switchblades, which it defines as knives with blades 2 inches or longer that open automatically by the flick of a button, flip of the wrist, pressure on the handle or by gravity. The ban dates back some 65 years when they were viewed — thanks in large part to popular culture — as particularly dangerous and the weapon of choice for menacing street gangs.
Bonta’s office argued in turn that California should be able to continue outlawing such weapons “because Plaintiffs cannot show that switchblade knives with blades two inches or longer are commonly used for lawful self-defense, and such weapons are dangerous and unusual.”“The weapons at issue are not commonly used for self-defense and are dangerous and unusual,” the judge wrote. “The weapons thus fall outside of the scope of the Second Amendment.
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