9th Circuit upholds California ban on switchblades in San Diego lawsuit

A three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday unanimously affirmed a San Diego judge’s previous ruling that California’s ban on switchblades does not violate the Second Amendment and can remain in place.

California is one of the last remaining states in the country that still bans individuals from carrying automatically opening knives, which are better known as switchblades. The state defines switchblades as knives with blades 2 inches or longer that open automatically by the flick of a button, flip of the wrist, pressure on the handle or by gravity.

The organization Knife Rights and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in 2023 in San Diego federal court challenging California’s switchblade prohibition. In 2024, U.S. District Judge James Simmons ruled that California’s ban was constitutional, finding that switchblades were not protected by the Second Amendment because they’re dangerous, unusual and not commonly used for self-defense.

While the 9th Circuit judges ultimately came to the same conclusion as Simmons that California’s switchblade ban does not violate the Constitution, they wrote in their o...