Switchblades legal again

Switchblades are illegal no more in Montana. Inspired by Broadway musicals featuring gangs of delinquent teens knife fighting to show tunes, many states passed switchblade bans in the 1950s, including a federal switchblade ban in 1958.

For decades, it has been illegal in Montana to carry a switchblade or keep one in a car, though collectors are allowed to own them so long as they are registered with the county sheriff.

Switchblades differ from other knives only in the mechanism for deploying the blade: a button.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, told the House Judiciary Committee that EMTs, firefighters and people with disabilities use spring-activated knives because they can be opened and closed with one hand.

House Bill 155 sailed through both houses and was signed into law by the governor on April 3. Rep. Marilyn Ryan, D-Missoula, provided the sole nay vote against the repeal, but flipped on third reading in the House.