The Texas legislature repealed the ban on "illegal knives"—meaning Lone Star Staters will soon be able to carry daggers, dirks, stilettos, machetes, swords and spears. Undoing the prohibition on blades over 5 ½ inches, Texans will also be allowed to wield a weapon named for one of the heroes of the Texas Revolution, the Bowie knife. (For those of you old enough to remember, this is the Crocodile Dundee “That’s not a knife—this a knife!” knife.)
HB 1935, signed into law on June 15 by Governor Gregg Abbott, goes into effect on September 1, 2017. On that date, Texans can start brandishing swords and spears anywhere in the state except schools, colleges, bars, government buildings, correctional facilities, and houses of worship. (Under a new state law from 2016, concealed handguns are now allowed on college campuses.)
If you desperately need that spear for a church function, or sword for your Russo-Turkish War reenactments? There’s an exception for location-restricted knife use for historical demonstrations or ceremonies.
Minors under 18 are still banned from possessing knives over 5 ½ inches unless they’re in a car, boat, or supervised by a parent or guardian.
Beyond these restrictions, the knife rights’ bill effectively removes the term "illegal knife" from state law:
"…HB 1935 would complete Knife Rights’ efforts to bring knife freedom to Texas by removing entirely the definition of “illegal knife" in Section 46.01(6) of the Penal Code. This includes the prohibition on double edge blades, Bowie knives and the 5.5-inch carry limit.”
This law lifts a ban put into place nearly 150-years ago. After the Civil War ended, Texas saw a rise in lawlessness stemming from an increase in vigilante justice and white supremacist gangs like the Pale Face, Knights of the White Camellia and Ku Klux Klan. To stem the rise in violence, Texas lawmakers in 1871 passed a law banning Bowie knives and other arms such as swords, canes, slingshots, etc.
The new law was passed less than two months after a stabbing on the University of Texas at Austin campus. On May 1st, one person was killed and three others injured before police arrested a 21-year-old student armed with a hunting knife.
Should the right to bear arms include the right to bear swords? Hit the Take Action button and tell your Reps.
--Josh Herman
(Photo Credit: Søren Niedziella)
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