Texas Knife Law - Current Session (R84 - 2015) Proposed Knife Laws

Texas Sen. Whitmire Playing Dirty Political Trick
Knife Rights' "Illegal Knife" Ban Repeal Bill Yanked
CALL TODAY! Pass It On!

Chairman Whitmire has yanked HB 3884, which would repeal the remaining "illegal knives" in Texas statute, from the Local and Uncontested Calendar.
HB 3884 was passed by the House unanimously and passed out of Chairman Whitmire's Criminal Justice committee unanimously, and placed on the Local and Uncontested Calendar. Then Sen. Whitmire, who sponsored the bill for us in the Senate, quietly and inexplicably yanked the bill from the Calendar without notice!

Today is the last day the bill can be brought up! CALL: 512-463-0115 ASAP and ASK Chairman Whitmire to request a floor vote on HB 3884 TODAY!

If we can get HB 3884 passed, then only actual criminal use of a knife will be illegal, you can carry whatever knife you want. Thanks for your help!

PLEASE PASS THIS ALERT ON to all your friends....
 
Critter said:
Texas Sen. Whitmire Playing Dirty Political Trick
Knife Rights' "Illegal Knife" Ban Repeal Bill Yanked
CALL TODAY! Pass It On!

Chairman Whitmire has yanked HB 3884, which would repeal the remaining "illegal knives" in Texas statute, from the Local and Uncontested Calendar.
HB 3884 was passed by the House unanimously and passed out of Chairman Whitmire's Criminal Justice committee unanimously, and placed on the Local and Uncontested Calendar. Then Sen. Whitmire, who sponsored the bill for us in the Senate, quietly and inexplicably yanked the bill from the Calendar without notice!

Today is the last day the bill can be brought up! CALL: 512-463-0115 ASAP and ASK Chairman Whitmire to request a floor vote on HB 3884 TODAY!

If we can get HB 3884 passed, then only actual criminal use of a knife will be illegal, you can carry whatever knife you want. Thanks for your help!

PLEASE PASS THIS ALERT ON to all your friends....
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Just called and asked the nice-sounding young man who answered the phone to pass on my request that the Bill go to floor today. We'll see what happens...
 
I have called Whitmire's office as well as a few other friends in my area of Texas & it just sounds like a blow off. Getting passed around to different extensions between a guy answering phones & the woman answering at criminal justice committee's phone. Never once have they asked who I was, where I am from, or anything......nor have any of my local friends made any headway. I hope that the office is flooded with calls so it can be ignored!!!
 
Done...took a while and I got the impression they did not care much..but whatever, we need to do it anyway.
 
Unfortunately, that's politics in general... using another bill as "hostage" to get votes for another bill.

I have never donated money to any political campaign before, but if this doesn't pass, I may have to..... to his opponent... next election, even though I am not in his district. :D:D
 
zzyzzogeton said:
Unfortunately, that's politics in general... using another bill as "hostage" to get votes for another bill.

I have never donated money to any political campaign before, but if this doesn't pass, I may have to..... to his opponent... next election, even though I am not in his district. :D:D
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You know he's one of the longest serving State Senators right? He's in a very safe blue district down in the Houston area.

Any update on this situation or is the bill now dead?
 
John_0917 said:
You know he's one of the longest serving State Senators right? He's in a very safe blue district down in the Houston area.

Any update on this situation or is the bill now dead?
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Probably part of the problem right there.

No updates lately. The session is supposed to end at midnight. Hopefully it'll be voted on, but I'm not holding my breath.

One time, several sessions ago (don't remember the year), either the Speaker of the House or Lt. Gov. had the Sgt at Arms pull the plug on the clocks in the chambers a couple of minutes before midnight because there was an important bill being debated. They waited until they had a vote before plugging in the clocks and ending the session. Doubt that will happen this year - nothing very earth-shattering on the calendar.
 
I was telling my wife about Whitmire's move and how we would now have licensed open carry for handguns but not be able to carry a 6" blade.

Her sarcastic comment, "Maybe he just wants to make sure no one brings a knife to a gunfight."

It brought a chuckle.

Sorry to say that I think we won't be getting it this go round. Maybe in 2 more years?
 
DunkEm said:
I was telling my wife about Whitmire's move and how we would now have licensed open carry for handguns but not be able to carry a 6" blade.

Her sarcastic comment, "Maybe he just wants to make sure no one brings a knife to a gunfight."

It brought a chuckle.

Sorry to say that I think we won't be getting it this go round. Maybe in 2 more years?
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No sure right now. Went and looked at the Senate calendars on the Legislative web site and 3884 is listed on the "Regular Business Calendar" for Thursday, 28 May.

According to the Senate's convoluted rules, House Bills can be brought up on "calendar Wednesdays and Thursdays", so this may imply a first reading occurred today so that it can have the 2nd/3rd readings and a vote tomorrow. Maybe Doug will drop by for an update tonight. :D
 
zzyzzogeton said:
No sure right now. Went and looked at the Senate calendars on the Legislative web site and 3884 is listed on the "Regular Business Calendar" for Thursday, 28 May.

According to the Senate's convoluted rules, House Bills can be brought up on "calendar Wednesdays and Thursdays", so this may imply a first reading occurred today so that it can have the 2nd/3rd readings and a vote tomorrow. Maybe Doug will drop by for an update tonight. :D
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I take it back! Keep hope alive!
 
Yep, that's the calendar listing I found, so we still have a chance. :D

Back in the "old days" they actually read through the entire bill. It's my understanding that now-a-days, sometimes they just read the synopsis of a bill, unless someone insists on a full reading. I just don't have enough patience to go to the Capitol and sit through all the mumbo-jumbo to get a feel for how things proceed. I was a page in the House back in the late 60s for a special session, but my Representative kept me busy fetching and carrying and running errands so I never really had to suffer through the boredom OR get to learn the regular session playbook.
 
Unfortunately, Knife Rights' Comprehensive Knife Ban Repeal bill, HB 3884, that would have repealed the remaining "illegal knives" in Texas statute failed to be voted on by deadline in the Senate.

HB 3884 was passed by the House unanimously and passed out of Chairman Whitmire's Senate Criminal Justice committee unanimously, and placed on the Local and Uncontested Calendar. Then Sen. Whitmire, who sponsored HB 3884 for us in the Senate, quietly and inexplicably yanked the bill from the Local and Uncontested Calendar without notice in an apparent last-minute political spat with our primary bill sponsor having nothing to do with our bill.

We are extremely disappointed by Chairman Whitmire's disregard for his constituents in Texas who will continue to deal with Texas' irrational knife restrictions. We will be back again to get these archaic restrictions repealed in the next session (2 years), in the meantime Texas will remain far less free than their outsized reputation suggests.

On the bright side, Knife Rights' Texas Knife Law Preemption bill, HB 905, that would rid Texas of its patchwork of local knife laws more strict than state law, has passed the Senate by a vote of 31-0. It now goes to the Governor.

If you live, work or travel in Texas, please CALL and EMAIL Governor Greg Abbott and politely ask him to "please sign HB 905." That's it, keep is short and simple.

Phone: (800) 843-5789 or (512) 463-1782
Email through his contact form at: https://gov.texas.gov/contact/assistance.aspx (Select "Other" from the "Issue" dropdown menu)

Knife Law Preemption is our most important legislative effort and the foundation for ensuring all citizens enjoy any gains we make repealing knife bans. Preemption repeals and prevents local ordinances more restrictive than state law which only serve to confuse or entrap law-abiding citizens traveling within or through the state. Preemption ensures citizens can expect consistent enforcement of state knife laws everywhere in the state.

Two Texas cities made Knife Rights' 10 Worst Anti-Knife Cities in America list for 2014, San Antonio at number four and Corpus Christi at number nine. San Antonio prohibits carry of all locking-blade folding knives except on the job. There's no local restriction on fixed blade knives. In Corpus Christi it is illegal to carry any fixed blade knife or to carry a folder with a blade longer than 3-inches except when actually in use on the job.

HB 905 will repeal these local ordinances and ensure that the repeal of the Texas ban on switchblade (automatic) knives that Knife Rights passed last session will now be the law throughout Texas.

Knife Rights passed the nation's first Knife Law Preemption bill in Arizona in 2010 and has since passed preemption bills in Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.


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This has been an education in the legislative process.... Being a non-native Texan (grew up in Missouri), I'm not that familiar with the process here. (Not that I was familiar with the process in Missouri either...)

In addition to calling Rep Whitmire's office about HB 3884, I called Rep King's office (Chair of the Agriculture and Livestock Committee) about HB 3764 (Relating to exemptions from certain regulation for small honey production operations). I wanted to verify that HB 3764 was not needed if SB 1746, an identical bill to HB 3764 but originating in the House, was already voted on and passed by both Chambers. The staffer verified that this is indeed the case. Wayne (zz) might be interested that, effective 1 September, beekeepers can sell up to 2,500 pounds of honey per year and be free from most of the onerous regulations as they are considered "small" producers.

I'm hoping DunkEm is correct and the Senate does get on the ball and finish this one up this session.

Edit: Doug posted while I was slooooowly typing this (multi-tasking). I really hope that he's wrong about the procedure (although I doubt it)... If we missed this opportunity, perhaps the "honey production approach" (two identical bills, one originating in each Chamber) might help things along.
 
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Well, this is annoying, in two ways. The Texas Penal Code does not clearly define "Bowie knife," and some manufacturers use the term "Bowie" in naming knives that are quite good knives, but are not what would historically be considered a Bowie knife. An example would be the Spyderco Bradley Bowie. I reckon I will be ordering a Spyderco Temperence 2, rather than a Bradley Bowie. (I am a peace officer*, in Texas, and while currently exempt from the weapons section of the penal code, am about to retire, requiring me to relegate several favored fixed-blades to collectible status.)

Really, if one carries single-edged knives, and stays below the 5.5" limit, Texas is quite blade-friendly, compared to the majority of other states. Most states do not allow fixed-blade knives to be concealed, for example. Texas allows fixed-blades, and concealment is not an issue.

*I have never been strict with Texas weapon laws, when the person with the knife or other weapon has been otherwise law-abiding, and I was free to exercise discretion. :) I do not recall actually filing a charge on anyone for an illegal knife; just brass knuckles and handguns, and even then, drugs, extreme intoxication, an assault, or prior felonies were involved.
 
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Rex, Thanks for your service, along with your blade friendly attitude. I hope you were able to pass the same attitude to those you worked with over the years.

I'm right there with you on the lack of definition of what is a Bowie knife, re: Texas Penal Code. When asked by a LEO if (one of) the knives I was carrying was a Bowie, I would very politely tell him

"Oh, no sir, that would be illegal. What I have here is a Western L46-5, a reproduction of the WW2 Baby Shark Seabees utility knife. It has a 5" blade. The Shark, used by Navy pilots, had a 6" blade so I can't carry it off the farm."

The fact that it kinda LOOKS like a Bowie that forgot to eat it's Wheaties is what would get questions. But living in the boonies has its rewards sometimes. :D

On an update note, HB905, the pre-emption bill, is still awaiting the Governor's action. It has not yet been signed by him, but neither has it been vetoed.

As the bill was passed in the last week of the session, the Governor has 20 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law w/o signature. The bill was passed by the Senate on 26 May, so the Governor has until Sunday, 15 June. Since he hasn't vetoed it yet, I suspect he will let the bill quietly pass into force via the unsigned/unvetoed path, becoming effective 01 September 2015.

We're making progress - last session, switchblades and balisongs were undemonized and became legal; this session, the Balkanization of state knife law due to local knife laws got booted out the door.

I'm hoping that next session, the equivalent of HB 3884 will make it out of the Senate so that the only law affecting the knives we carry is what we do with them, not what they look like.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
On an update note, HB905, the pre-emption bill, is still awaiting the Governor's action. It has not yet been signed by him, but neither has it been vetoed.

As the bill was passed in the last week of the session, the Governor has 20 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law w/o signature. The bill was passed by the Senate on 26 May, so the Governor has until Sunday, 15 June.
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Sort of, but not perhaps exactly. The day count technically begins once it is received by the Governor, or starting Adjournment Sine Die, not when it is passed. Because the bill was believed to be transmitted along with all the rest of the end-off-session bills, it is possible that the 20 days started after Sine die, June 1, so he may well have until the 20th. Unfortunately, it seems that it depends on who you ask as to when the date is, and nobody except the Governor's office seems to know for sure and they are not saying. :-) We do expect him to sign it, but nothing is ever certain...
 
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