I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 60
To protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport knives interstate,
notwithstanding a patchwork of State and local prohibitions that burden
citizens.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY3, 2025
Mr. B
IGGSof Arizona (for himself and Mr. OGLES) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport
knives interstate, notwithstanding a patchwork of State
and local prohibitions that burden citizens.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Knife Owners’ Protec-4
tion Act of 2025’’. 5
SEC. 2. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF KNIVES. 6
(a) D
EFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 7
(1) the term ‘‘State’’ means any of the 50 8
States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, 9
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•HR 60 IH
Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, 1
the Virgin Islands of the United States, and any 2
other territory of the United States; and 3
(2) the term ‘‘transport’’— 4
(A) includes staying in temporary lodging 5
overnight, common carrier misrouting or delays, 6
stops for food, fuel, vehicle maintenance, emer-7
gencies, medical treatment, and all other activ-8
ity related to the overall journey of the indi-9
vidual; and 10
(B) does not include any transportation of 11
1 or more knives with the intent to commit any 12
offense punishable by imprisonment for a term 13
exceeding 1 year involving the use or threatened 14
use of force against another, or with knowledge, 15
or reasonable cause to believe, that such an of-16
fense is to be committed in the course of, or 17
arising from, such journey. 18
(b) R
EQUIREMENTS.—Notwithstanding any provision 19
of any law or any rule or regulation of the United States, 20
or of a State or any political subdivision of a State, any 21
individual who is not otherwise prohibited by Federal law 22
from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a 23
knife or knives shall be entitled to transport a knife or 24
knives from any place where the individual may lawfully 25
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•HR 60 IH
possess, carry, or transport such a knife or knives to any 1
other place where the individual may lawfully possess, 2
carry, or transport such a knife or knives if— 3
(1) in the case of transportation by motor vehi-4
cle, the knife is, or the knives are, not directly acces-5
sible from the passenger compartment of the trans-6
porting motor vehicle, or, in the case of a motor ve-7
hicle without a compartment separate from the pas-8
senger compartment, the knife is, or the knives are, 9
contained in a locked container, locked glove com-10
partment, or locked console; 11
(2) in the case of transportation by air, the 12
knife is, or the knives are, contained in a locked con-13
tainer and are not in the passenger cabin of the air-14
craft; or 15
(3) in the case of transportation by other 16
means (including any conveyance over land, or on or 17
through water), the knife is, or the knives are, con-18
tained in a locked container. 19
(c) E
MERGENCYKNIVES.— 20
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 21
any knife or tool designed for enabling escape in an 22
emergency incorporating a blunt tipped safety blade, 23
a guarded blade, or both, for cutting safety belts— 24
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(A) may be carried in the passenger com-1
partment of a transporting motor vehicle; and 2
(B) shall not be required to be secured in 3
a locked container, locked glove compartment, 4
or locked console. 5
(2) E
XCEPTION.—This subsection shall not 6
apply to the transport of any knife or tool described 7
in paragraph (1) in the passenger cabin of an air-8
craft the passengers of which are subject to airport 9
screening procedures of the Transportation Security 10
Administration. 11
(d) T
EMPORARYLODGING.—Subject to the require-12
ments under subsection (b), a knife or knives may be kept 13
accessible in any form of temporary lodging overnight, as 14
described in subsection (a)(2)(A). 15
(e) N
OARREST ORDETENTION.—An individual who 16
is transporting a knife or knives in compliance with this 17
section may not be arrested or otherwise detained for vio-18
lation of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or 19
any political subdivision of a State related to the posses-20
sion, transportation, or carrying of knives, unless there is 21
probable cause to believe that the individual is in violation 22
of 1 or more of the requirements under subsection (b). 23
(f) C
LAIM ORDEFENSE.— 24
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(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual may assert 1
this section as a claim or defense in any civil or 2
criminal action or proceeding. 3
(2) B
URDEN OF PROOF .—If an individual as-4
serts this section as a claim or defense in a criminal 5
proceeding, the relevant State or political subdivision 6
shall bear the burden of proving, beyond a reason-7
able doubt, that the individual was not in compliance 8
with the requirements under subsection (b). 9
(g) R
IGHT OFACTION.— 10
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Any individual who, under 11
color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, 12
or usage, of any State or political subdivision of a 13
State, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any indi-14
vidual to the deprivation of the rights, privileges, or 15
immunities set forth in this section, shall be liable 16
to the individual so deprived in an action at law, suit 17
in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress. 18
(2) A
TTORNEY’S FEES.—When an individual 19
asserts this section as a claim or defense, the court 20
shall award the prevailing party (including any party 21
who receives a favorable resolution through a deci-22
sion by a court, settlement of a claim, withdrawal of 23
criminal charges, or change of a statute or regula-24
tion), other than a State or any political subdivision 25
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•HR 60 IH
of a State or its employees or representatives, a rea-1
sonable attorney’s fee. 2
(h) R
ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-3
tion shall be construed in any way— 4
(1) to limit any right to possess, carry, or 5
transport a knife or knives under applicable State 6
law; or 7
(2) to impose additional restrictions or require-8
ments on interstate travel by air with a knife or 9
knives. 10
Æ
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