Supreme Judicial Court rules possessing a switchblade knife is no longer a crime under the 2nd Amendment

The Opinion is MAGICAL.


The defendant argues a switchblade, at root, is a type of folding pocketknife, and law abiding citizens have possessed folding pocketknives for lawful purposes since our nation's founding, including for self defense. Therefore, notwithstanding its spring-loaded opening mechanism, a switchblade is an "arm" under the Second Amendment. The Commonwealth contends knives categorically are not protected by the Second Amendment because the definition of arms is limited to firearms. The Commonwealth is incorrect -- as discussed above, the Second Amendment extends to all bearable arms and is not limited to firearms...... To assess whether the drafters would have intended the term "arms" to include switchblade knives for Second Amendment purposes, however, we must employ Heller's methodology, centered on constitutional text and history. See Heller, 554 U.S. at 581-582. A review of the history of the American colonies reveals that knives were ubiquitous among colonists, who used them to defend their lives, obtain or produce food, and fashion articles from raw materials. See State v. Delgado, 298 Or. 395, 401 (1984). See also G.C. Neumann, Swords and Blades of the American Revolution 227 (1973) (knives and daggers were "personal necessities to the early American").



The parties do not dispute switchblades fit these dictionary definitions of "arms"; like handguns, a person can carry a switchblade for offensive or defensive purposes in case of confrontation.
 

Attachments

  • MA SJC Switchblade.pdf
    111.4 KB · Views: 85
Last edited:
This is Awesome. I'm assuming Gravity and knives with the Wave feature are included...

Off to Wish to go Clone shopping!!!!!

Seriously, I have a few cool (real) Microtechs that would be cool to be able to carry.
 
That's awesome. One of the surprises I got when moving from CT to GA was that switchblades are legal to own and carry here. I already had a "vintage" one, bought a Benchmade when I saw them for sale in my LGS.

Picked up an OTF not too long ago from Krate Tactical - fidget spinner for a grownup. I don't carry it, I carry one of my benchmade strykers, but it's fun to play with.
 
We won’t truly be free men until we can carry our Zoobows in public without fear of arrest.
Wear them with, um, pride! 🦁

[grin]

il_794xN.4910355383_5fcy.jpg
 
And one has to wonder if this court is actually FOLLOWING Bruen, unlike NY and otehr areas, if we shoudl just be challenging the latest legislative abomination in state court.

SJC: "Let's see. Taht goes. And that. And that. Well THAT'S not legal. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. OK, here are the 8 words you can keep in your law. The rest is bullspit."
 
BTW, I am floored by how much quality knives cost nowadays. 2-300 bucks a knife is budget handgun territory.
 
I didn't think the wave knives were banned

Yeah, forget the Cite, sure someone can find it, but because it can deploy the blade one handed by a feature or such... (paraphrasing)

ETA Found this while searching...

 
Last edited:
All request some form of licensure or curbs
a masochistic desire to be constantly punished runs way too deep with most people here.

people are not free in this country simply because majority does not even want to be free anymore. freedom assumes responsibility and self-sufficiency, and majority simply does not want that, and, most of all, do not want to live next to those who are free.
so the only solution is for no one to be free, but keep singing songs in schools of how free they all are.
 
One was used in a few movies by bad guys.... Thus Switchblades are evil!!!!!!
This is correct.
1957 this law was passed.
List of movies with switch blades in them:

1955

Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) Italian stiletto
Blackboard Jungle (1955) Italian-style stiletto
Dimentia (Daughter of Horror) (1955) Italian style stiletto
Kiss Me Deadly (1955) Italian style stiletto
THE Ladykillers (1955) kriss-blade stiletto
THE Night of the Hunter (1955) Italian-style stiletto
Oklahoma (1955) prop kaleidescope side-opener
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Italian-style stilettos
=======================================================
1956

Around The World In 80 Days (1956) Italian-style stiletto
Boy With a Knife (1956) Schrade? swinguard
While The City Sleeps 1956 unknown swinguard
=======================================================
1957

12 Angry Men (1957) 2 identical Italian-style stilettos
THE Delicate Delinquent (1957) Italian-style stilettos
Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957) a bunch of Italian-style stilettos
THE Joker Is Wild (1957) American side-opener
THE Wild Town (1957)


I bet if you look up which year Mass outlawed suppressors, there would be a similar slate of movies with assasins quietly dispatching people with "silencers"
 
Back
Top Bottom