The Cutting Edge

The official blog of Knife Depot

Partial Repeal of Illinois Switchblade Ban Signed into Law

Last week, the repeal of the Colorado switchblade ban finally took effect (but beware since the state does not have a statewide preemption law).  Then, on Friday, the governor of Illinois signed SB607 into law, making it legal for millions of Illinoisans to carry switchblades.

The law takes effect immediately and allows legal possession of automatic knives by anyone in the state who has a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card. The card allows people to buy firearms and ammunition.

This isn’t a complete victory for Knife Rights, the organization that helped spearhead the repeal. The bill started out as a full switchblade ban repeal before it was amended to say that a switchblade would only be legal for those with a Firearm Concealed Carry License (FCCL). 

Here’s more from Knife Rights:

To put this into perspective, in Illinois there are approximately 2.1 million FOID card holders vs. only 223,637 FCCL holders (Illinois was the last state to legalize concealed carry).

Todd Rathner, the director of legislative affairs at Knife Rights, was able to negotiate to allow holders of a FOID card to carry automatic knives.

This is now the 15th state to repeal some part of a switchblade ban since Knife Rights began advocating for knife owners in 2010. That’s a pretty big accomplishment, but a lot of work remains. I’m still holding out for the federal switchblade ban repeal, but it feels so far away at this point.

2 Comments

  1. In the UK we are that oppressed we aren’t allowed to carry bugger all and in circumstances of terrorism have to simply run or die! This is ridiculous as knives can turn people into heros even if they aren’t used- just carrying one can make a person braver but to be rational and realistic: a switchblade is a knife that can actually save lives when ‘shit’ happens and a tool is needed instantaneously to cut a rope or a seatbelt etc etc – they weren’t all created for defence but for convenience and i’d suggest that the UK will soon be a no go area for you lot as its turning into a third world country with state oppression spearheading a muslim culture.

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