Last week a unanimous Fifth Circuit panel held that federal rules limiting interstate trade in switchblade knives violate the Second Amendment. The decision in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Blanche found the 1958 statute governing manufacture, transportation and distribution of such knives lacked a comparable historical tradition under Bruen and therefore conflicted with the right to keep and bear arms.

Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote the 27-page opinion, which invoked common use more than six times. The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund financed the litigation and three other Second Amendment groups filed an amicus brief. The panel remanded the case, the ruling remains unimplemented, the Department of Justice may seek review, and the Supreme Court will hear an assault-weapon challenge on December 2, 2026 concerning AR-15 rifles and similar semi-automatic firearms.