The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court this week struck down the Commonwealth's ban on carrying switchblade knives as it violates the right to bear arms.

The 2A win came in the case of Commonwealth v. Canjura, a December 2023 appeal to the state's high court of charges against David Canjura, a Boston man found to have a "knife with a spring-assisted blade" in his pocket. The state's antiquated switchblade ban dates back to the era in which such knives made a big splash following the popularity of "West Side Story."

The 18-page ruling by the unanimous five-judge panel cited case law in the U.S. Supreme Court's Bruen decision as well as a Massachusetts case that held stun guns are protected under the right to keep and bear arms. 

"The Second Amendment extends to all bearable arms and is not limited to firearms," said Justice Serge Georges. 

Looking towards the history and tradition of knife carry and use in the country, George noted, "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." He expanded on that, saying, "In short, folding pocketknives not only fit within contemporaneous dictionary definitions of arms – which would encompass a broader category of knives that today includes switchblades – but they also were commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes around the time of the founding."

The Knife Rights Foundation, which filed two amicus briefs in the case, welcomed the court's ruling.

"It is extremely gratifying to see this switchblade ban struck down on Second Amendment grounds in one of the most notoriously anti-Second Amendment states," said Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter in a statement. 

Banner image: A Tisas B45 Manta .45 Bobtail with LOK grips with an older Milano-stamped switchblade. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)