As the saying goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Last week Governor Wolf signed HB 1929 amending 18 Pa.C.S. § 908, concerning Prohibited Offensive Weapons, to remove “dagger knife, razor, or cutting instrument, the blade of which is exposed in an automatic way by switch, push-button, spring mechanism, or otherwise” from the definition of “offensive weapons.”
As a result, those types of daggers, knives, razors, and cutting instruments will be lawful to purchase, sell, repair, possess, and use in the Commonwealth once the bill becomes effective on January 2, 2023, however, it will still generally be a criminal offense to possess or employ these items in the commission of a crime. Additionally, knives lack the statewide preemption protection that firearms enjoy and local municipalities may implement their own restrictions on knives (like Philadelphia). It seems to me this type of restriction likely violates the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions, but that’s never stopped Philadelphia before.
The possibility of local restrictions aside, this is a long overdue breath of fresh air for one of the few states where automatic knives are still unlawful to possess.
Published by Dillon Harris, Esq.
Dillon grew up in Kingman, Arizona. During high school he got his first exposure to the legal system, spending a summer working in the Mohave County Attorney’s Office working with attorneys and office staff in various practice areas.
Dillon attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice with specializations in Legal and Criminal Investigation, Legal and Court Justice, and Justice in Politics, Media, and Popular Culture. Throughout and immediately after college he held positions in both the Court Administration and Clerk of Superior Court departments of the Superior Court of Arizona in Coconino County where he was part of a team that was awarded the 2016 Strategic Agenda Award by the Arizona State Judiciary and the 2016 Merit Award by the Arizona Association of Counties.
Dillon graduated cum laude from Vermont Law School and passed the Uniform Bar Exam in 2020. He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and Maryland and handles cases in both states dealing with firearms or general estate practice. He is also admitted to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Courts for the District of Maryland, the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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