The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Wednesday that a 1958 federal law banning the manufacture of switchblades for interstate commerce is unconstitutional. The New Orleans-based court found that the ban on spring-release pocketknives violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
The decision follows a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires modern weapons restrictions to be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of arms regulation. The three-judge panel, consisting of Republican appointees, determined that the U.S. Justice Department failed to provide historical evidence of similar bans from the American founding era to justify the current federal restriction.
U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote that Congress passed the Federal Switchblade Act in 1958 during a period of concern regarding juvenile delinquency. Elrod stated that knives have historically been used for defense and that switchblades qualify as "arms" protected for self-defense. The ruling reversed a previous trial judge's decision in Texas that had upheld the law.
The legal challenge was brought by the advocacy group Knife Rights, along with five individuals and two firearms retailers. While the court struck down the core provision regarding interstate sale and distribution, it noted that the plaintiffs lacked the standing to challenge separate restrictions on switchblades in U.S. territories and on tribal lands.
For consumers and small-business owners, the immediate change is the removal of federal barriers to purchasing or selling these specific pocketknives across state boundaries. Previously, retailers and manufacturers faced federal restrictions that limited their market to within-state transactions or specific exempt groups. The Justice Department, which defended the law under the Trump administration as a regulation of "dangerous and unusual weapons," did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The ruling sets a precedent by explicitly extending the Supreme Court's "history and tradition" test for firearms to bladed weapons. This could lead to further legal challenges against other state or local knife regulations. What happens next depends on whether the U.S. Justice Department chooses to appeal the decision. As of October 22, 2026, the department had not issued a formal response.