The Second Amendment is, thankfully, one of the clearest legal documents ever created. It’s writing is simple, straightforward, and to the point. It says very clearly that the government may not prevent American citizens from owning and carrying arms.
Fortunately, we have an administration in the White House that is much more 2A friendly than the previous administration (which never saw a piece of gun control legislation that it didn’t lust after) and has been working hard to protect Americans’ gun rights.
That didn’t stop Trump’s Department of Justice from deciding to uphold a federal ban on other kinds of weapons, though (hat tip to here for the lead). Scott Witner writes,
While the Department of Justice has aggressively challenged gun control laws in blue states and territories, it is simultaneously telling federal courts that the Second Amendment does not protect switchblade knives. According to the DOJ, Americans may have a constitutional right to own AR-15s and carry handguns, but automatic knives are a bridge too far.
What’s going on here? Witner continues:
The issue is playing out in Knife Rights v. Bondi, a case currently before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Knife Rights, a national advocacy group, is challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Switchblade Act — a 1958 law that restricts interstate commerce in automatic knives and bans their possession on certain federal, tribal, and territorial lands.
Rather than backing the challenge, the Trump DOJ is defending the law.
I have to say that I find the DOJ’s position on this problematic (if I’m being polite). After all, what is a firearm except a weapon that a person can use at more of a distance than other types of weapons?
How is a knife of any sort any different (other than the force at a distance aspect for people with knives who don’t thrown them)? A knife is a weapon. It can be used to defend oneself, or it can be used with evil intent.
Like any other weapon, a knife is like a firearm in terms of what it can be used for, so, my thinking is that it should be protected under the Second Amendment. Period.
What do you think and why? Tell us below.
