Autos to be legal in Virginia July 1st

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Knife_Collector_101

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Great news this morning from Knife Rights.

Knife Rights’ Virginia Switchblade Ban Repeal Bill, SB 758, that passed with broad bipartisan support, has been signed into law by Governor Glenn Youngkin. We sincerely appreciate Gov. Youngkin signing this bill after nearly 5 years of effort to repeal the ban.

NOTE: Repeal does not become effective until July 1st. Until that date, possession of automatic knives remains illegal in Virginia.

NOTE: The concealed carry knife bans in Virginia, including of switchblade (automatic) knives, will still remain in effect: “If any person carries about his person, hidden from common observation, (i) any dirk, bowie knife, switchblade knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, … or (v) any weapon of like kind as those enumerated in this subsection…”

Knife Rights will never stop until all archaic knife restrictions in Virginia are repealed.
Our sincere thanks and congratulations to sponsor Senator Todd Pillion for his efforts that have resulted in the repeal of Virginia’s longstanding irrational switchblade ban.
With the repeal in Virginia, only five states remain with a complete ban on civilian possession of switchblade (automatic) knives. Knife Rights has led the effort to repeal switchblade bans or restrictions in 19 states, starting with New Hampshire in 2010. Repeals have since been enacted in Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and now in Virginia.
Altogether, Knife Rights’ efforts have resulted in 36 bills enacted repealing knife bans in 25 states and over 150 cities and towns since 2010.

It’s great that they finally accomplished this. Now there is still some debate as to whether or not possession of a switchblade was totally banned in VA. The law never outright banned possession but it stated that mere possession is considered prima facie evidence of intent to sell. In other words, being found with the knife is automatically taken as evidence you have intent to sell it which is illegal. Some have stated there are instances in which a good defense could help prove you’re a collector and had the knife as part of a collection. It created a weird legal paradigm so I guess as a result of that, Knife Rights and others decided to list VA as having a total ban just to be on the safe side.
 
This is sure good news, kudos to Knife Rights for all their work. Now it makes sense to add to the collection whereas before it didn't. I have thanked all my representatives and the govenor but will continue to push for all restrictions to be gone.
 
sharpguytoo said:
This is sure good news, kudos to Knife Rights for all their work. Now it makes sense to add to the collection whereas before it didn't. I have thanked all my representatives and the govenor but will continue to push for all restrictions to be gone.
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For sure.

Anyway, as for the five remaining states with a total ban on autos, Doug is referring to Delaware, Minnesota, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Washington State.

They’ve been pushing in Washington for the past four legislative sessions. The problem is that the legislature is never in session long enough and the timing always runs out on the bill before they can get it to the floor for a vote. It’s frustrating but they’re keeping it up until they get it.

There is a lawsuit going through the court system right now challenging Hawaii’s butterfly knife ban. If they can get that overturned, hopefully autos will follow soon after.

I think the jury is still out there on whether or not autos are totally banned in Minnesota. There is a “museum and collectors of art” exception that some seem to interpret as an exception that could allow you to own autos as part of a collection.

No efforts at repeal have been tried in New Mexico or Delaware as far as I know. NM doesn’t have a paid legislature and they’re usually only in session for three months in a year.
 
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Yeah that 1.5 blade is laughable for sure. Might be good for cleaning under fingernails! Not so good for defending against 2 or 4 legged attackers.
 
mauser9 said:
Yeah that 1.5 blade is laughable for sure. Might be good for cleaning under fingernails! Not so good for defending against 2 or 4 legged attackers.
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If you want to defend yourself, get a gun, mace, or taser.

It doesn’t help the case for making autos legal when every time they're talked about, someone instantly pulls up the weapon aspect of them, rather than the tool aspect.
 
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Thank goodness. Now I can own and carry a Hogue Automatic without fear of imprisonment.
 
Fixall said:
If you want to defend yourself, get a gun, mace, or taser.

It doesn’t help the case for making autos legal when every time there are talked about, someone instantly pulls up the weapon aspect of them, rather than the tool aspect.
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I agree with this sentiment. We should focus on the usefulness of them as tools. That’s what a knife is, regardless of opening mechanism.
 
I have a question regarding that. They say only open carry is allowed. Is a sheath with the manufacturer logo on the belt enough to be considered open carry?
 
db98 said:
I have a question regarding that. They say only open carry is allowed. Is a sheath with the manufacturer logo on the belt enough to be considered open carry?
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In all my years reading case law, I've yet to see this ruled on in any court. So I have to preface by saying that it's very unlikely anyone can say for sure, unless they can cough up a verifiable citation ("a cop/lawyer told me once" is not acceptable). For context, my neighboring state of Maryland has the same problem, in that we can legally own and openly carry switchblades, but can't carry them concealed (or sell them). That's been the law here for a very long time, and yet the issue just hasn't come up in the court system.

That said, I can offer what I do know. Most case law on concealed knives (such as Shipley or Polk) has to do with the object on your person being recognizable as a knife by other people in the course of normal everyday interactions. In MD, the Polk case said "the reasonable observer knows when he has seen a knife." I have not found any case law commenting on recognizing the type of knife, just that it is a knife. I personally would not count on the manufacturer logo having any reasonable effect on the matter, as most non-knife-enthusiasts (which includes many cops) are not going to be familiar with many knife brands. I guess if the sheath is open-topped such that you can see there is clearly a folding knife there, it could be argued that is open carry. But I don't have a firm case to point to for a clear answer.

It's not too surprising to me that there's so little case law. Switchblades are pretty rare these days, and most people that own them are law-abiding enthusiasts. Most knife carry cases on the other hand are brought against people who were committing other crimes, such as assault, robbery, prostitution, or drug offenses, and the knives they have are usually cheap kitchen knives or box cutters.
 
This is good news! Let's hope California is the next state to amend some outdated laws. 🥸🤜🤛🤝

Wait, New Mexico's congress only in session 3 months a year!? 🤯

Let's hope for New Virginians that open carry might be OK of there is a pocket clip showing with the words "knife" engraved in it? 🤔
 
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glistam said:
In all my years reading case law, I've yet to see this ruled on in any court. So I have to preface by saying that it's very unlikely anyone can say for sure, unless they can cough up a verifiable citation ("a cop/lawyer told me once" is not acceptable). For context, my neighboring state of Maryland has the same problem, in that we can legally own and openly carry switchblades, but can't carry them concealed (or sell them). That's been the law here for a very long time, and yet the issue just hasn't come up in the court system.

That said, I can offer what I do know. Most case law on concealed knives (such as Shipley or Polk) has to do with the object on your person being recognizable as a knife by other people in the course of normal everyday interactions. In MD, the Polk case said "the reasonable observer knows when he has seen a knife." I have not found any case law commenting on recognizing the type of knife, just that it is a knife. I personally would not count on the manufacturer logo having any reasonable effect on the matter, as most non-knife-enthusiasts (which includes many cops) are not going to be familiar with many knife brands. I guess if the sheath is open-topped such that you can see there is clearly a folding knife there, it could be argued that is open carry. But I don't have a firm case to point to for a clear answer.

It's not too surprising to me that there's so little case law. Switchblades are pretty rare these days, and most people that own them are law-abiding enthusiasts. Most knife carry cases on the other hand are brought against people who were committing other crimes, such as assault, robbery, prostitution, or drug offenses, and the knives they have are usually cheap kitchen knives or box cutters.
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I thought cops would be knowledgeable on knives tbh. Where are the sheaths with an open top? I can’t find any, just ones for fixed blades which would be way too big. I want to get either a 9400 or a TR3 so if it’s that size it’ll be good
 
db98 said:
I thought cops would be knowledgeable on knives tbh.
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I've not found that to be the case. Some are, but not more than regular people are. Most cops I've met have far more knowledge about guns or empty-handed combat, and only carry a knife for utility purposes or carry a multitool.

db98 said:
Where are the sheaths with an open top? I can’t find any, just ones for fixed blades which would be way too big. I want to get either a 9400 or a TR3 so if it’s that size it’ll be good
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Here's one: https://www.knifecenter.com/item/CN...2834-folding-knife-belt-sheath-welted-leather
It's stiff and is designed for knives with a body thickness of about 3/8". Not sure what the specs are on the models you just quoted.
You can also look for open-topped single pistol magazine holders for thicker knives.
 
Bing Gao said:
Great news. When will this happen to WA???
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It’s been passed by the Senate two or three times now. It hasn’t ever made it to a vote before the session expires in the House.

It’d be great if our elected officials would do their damn jobs. Apparently that’s too much to ask for these days though.
 
Hot Damn! I'll be at Starbucks <snap out> <snap in> while drinking a cappuccino!
 
glistam said:
I've not found that to be the case. Some are, but not more than regular people are. Most cops I've met have far more knowledge about guns or empty-handed combat, and only carry a knife for utility purposes or carry a multitool.


Here's one: https://www.knifecenter.com/item/CN...2834-folding-knife-belt-sheath-welted-leather
It's stiff and is designed for knives with a body thickness of about 3/8". Not sure what the specs are on the models you just quoted.
You can also look for open-topped single pistol magazine holders for thicker knives.
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The TR3 might be a bit thick but that’ll definitely fit a 9400. Unfortunately I’ll have to carry tip down due to the “disguising the weapon’s true nature” clause which I think is BS but it’s better than nothing
 
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