On August 27, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the state’s ban on carrying switchblade knives is unconstitutional, violating the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The case was brought by David Canjura, who was arrested in 2020 after a domestic dispute and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon in violation of the switchblade ban following a search by officers. In his appeal to the state’s high court, Canjura argued that the ban violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Massachusetts officials were unable to identify any historical bans on switchblades or their closest analog, folding pocketknives. This means that the ban does not meet the test outlined in a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Serge Georges wrote for the unanimous court that the state had not demonstrated a historical tradition justifying the regulation of switchblade knives.
The Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, and the U.S. Supreme Court has previously found that the right includes items such as stun guns. In the case District of Columbia v. Heller, the court stated that “arms” refers to “weapons of offense, or armor of defense” and “any thing that a man wears for his defense, or takes into his hands, or useth in wrath to cast at or strike another.” The Massachusetts Supreme Court acknowledged that the Second Amendment covers knives, citing their historical use for defense throughout American history.
According to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, government officials must provide proof that a regulation implicating the Second Amendment is consistent with the nation’s history of restrictions when faced with a challenge. Massachusetts officials cited three cases from the 1800s that found restrictions on certain types of knives lawful, but none of these involved pocketknives, which are considered the closest historical analog to switchblades.
The court stated that based on the fact only seven states ban switchblades, it inferred that they are in common use today. Additionally, nothing about switchblades is “uniquely dangerous,” according to Georges. The ruling effectively overturns Massachusetts’ switchblade ban, allowing for their possession and use by citizens who choose to carry them.
