In a significant legal challenge against the State of California, Knife Rights, Inc., along with individual members and affiliated businesses, has filed a federal lawsuit contending that the state’s prohibition on automatically opening knives, commonly referred to as “switchblades,” infringes upon Second Amendment rights. The lawsuit, initiated on March 15, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, names California Attorney General Rob Bonta among the defendants. The plaintiffs argue that the ban violates both Second Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights, emphasizing that such knives are “arms” under the Second Amendment and should be protected for self-defense and other lawful purposes.
The contention at the heart of the lawsuit is that automatically opening knives, which are legal in at least 43 of the 50 states, are in “common use” and do not constitute “dangerous and unusual arms.” The plaintiffs seek monetary relief, interest, and other just relief, as they argue that the state’s ban unjustly restricts the rights of law-abiding citizens to possess, carry, and use these knives for lawful purposes, including self-defense.