Ohio Knife Law Reform Bill Passed/Sent To Governor DeWine For Signature

A bipartisan jobs and criminal justice reform bill, SB 140, has passed the legislature and is now headed to Governor DeWine for his consideration. SB 140 passed the Senate 32-1 previously and has now passed in the House 59-23.

SB 140 reforms Ohio's knife law by making two separate substantive changes:

1. Repealing the ban on manufacture and sale of already legal to possess and carry "switchblade," "spring blade" and "gravity" knives. Ohio manufacturers will now be able to supply automatic knives to customers in the 44 states in which they are legal as well as to law enforcement and the military.
2. Clearing up the confusion in Ohio law regarding carry of any knife by defining a knife, razor or cutting instrument as a "deadly weapon" or "weapon" only if it is used as a weapon.

Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter said, "The passage of SB140 is the culmination of six years of work by Knife Rights and our strong legislative partners. It is commonsense criminal justice reform and will create jobs, just what Ohio needs today. I urge Governor DeWine to sign SB140 into law as soon as possible."

Former Senator Joe Uecker, SB 140's original sponsor, said, "When Knife Rights approached me about this bill, it made perfect sense to me. A completely legal item to possess should be completely legal to manufacture in Ohio. A knife should not be considered a deadly weapon unless it's used as one. That's just common sense."

Rick Hinderer, owner of Hinderer Knives located in Shreve, Ohio, said, "I was fully prepared to take our manufacturing of automatic knives to a neighboring state. Then Knife Rights stepped up to fix the law here in Ohio so we could expand to make switchblade knives that are legal in 44 states, including Ohio. Decriminalizing knife carry was frosting on the cake that I was proud to support. I urge Governor DeWine to sign this important jobs and criminal justice reform bill."

Representative Scott Wiggam, Rick Hinderer's Representative, said, "When I was approached by a constituent who wanted to manufacture automatic knives under contract to the U.S. Government and he told me he couldn't because of an outdated Ohio statute, I knew we had to fix it. SB140 is the right policy for Ohio and Ohioans."

Representative George Lang, Chairman of the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee, said, "SB140 is just good policy. It is good for Ohio businesses and will create jobs and it is good for Ohio citizens. Decriminalizing simple possession of a knife is much needed criminal justice reform.

Co-Sponsor Senator Kristina Roegner, said, "Manufacturing jobs are the lifeblood of Ohio. The fact that you cannot legally manufacture an otherwise legal product in Ohio makes no sense. This is why I co-sponsored SB140; it's just good policy for Ohio."

Knife Rights (www.KnifeRights.org) is America's grassroots knife owners' organization; leading the fight to Rewrite Knife Law in America™ and forging a Sharper Future for all Americans™. Knife Rights efforts have resulted in 32 bills enacted repealing knife bans in 22 states and over 100 cities and towns since 2010.