Since September 1, 2017, Texans over the age of 18 have been allowed to
carry knives, spears, sabers, machetes, and swords in most places statewide.
H.B. 1935 (Texas Knife Law Reform Bill) eliminated ownership and restrictions on knives with blades longer than 5.5 inches, including daggers, double-edged knives, swords, dirks, poniards, dirks, stilettos, and Bowie knives.
If you’ve never heard of these types of knives, you’re not alone.
Knife Rights, a national pro-knife advocacy group, said that the bill was 95 percent intact when Governor Abbott signed it. Advocates promised to continue fighting until all “minor restrictions” concerning knives are cleared in Texas.
Knife activists were passionate about the bill because they believe that prior to it Texans were inappropriately considered as “criminals” for carrying blades and knives. The 2017 law removed the term
illegal knives from the criminal code and instead set minimal regulations on
location-restricted knives.
H.B. 1935 and Location-Restricted Knives
The 2017 law allowed Texans to carry knives anywhere in the state, with certain notable restrictions. For example, knife owners still may NOT carry “restricted” knives (knives with blades longer than 5.5 inches long) into:
- Schools or school-sponsored events
- Airports
- Racetracks
- Places of worship
- Sporting event facilities
- Government buildings
- Colleges and universities
- Amusement parks
- Correctional facilities
- Hospitals and mental hospitals
- Polling places
- Bars (establishments that make at least 51 percent of income from the sales of alcohol)
The law also restricted minors under age 18 by not allowing them to openly possess a knife longer than 5.5 inches unless he or she is at home, in a car or watercraft, or he or she is being supervised by a parent/guardian.
Wielding a location-restricted knife in one of the restricted places listed above can result in a Class C misdemeanor (or a third-degree felony if carrying in a bar).
The states of Oklahoma and Montana also passed legislation regarding the open carry of knives and swords.
