The court held the Act's restriction on interstate introduction, manufacture, transportation, and distribution of switchblades violates the Second Amendment, reversed the dismissal of that claim, and remanded.
On October 21, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that 15 U.S.C. § 1242 of the Federal Switchblade Act violates the Second Amendment. The court held that switchblade knives qualify as arms and that the government did not show a sufficient historical tradition for § 1242's restrictions on the interstate supply chain.
The panel reversed the Northern District of Texas's dismissal of the § 1242 claim and remanded for further proceedings. It affirmed dismissal of the separate § 1243 claim. The opinion is a Fifth Circuit decision in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Blanche; it is not an Ohio enactment and does not itself change Ohio law.
The decision's effect outside the Fifth Circuit, the next district-court proceedings, and any later Supreme Court review are separate questions. Not legal advice. Verify current law and the text of any controlling order before acting.
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