Supporters of “knife rights” are urging Idaho lawmakers to pass a bill that would keep cities and counties from restricting the possession and sale of knives.
Todd Rathner, from the Arizona-based group Knife Rights, described the bill as a preemptive effort to prevent a patchwork of local laws.
“Folks who work in agriculture that carry a knife every day, folks maybe who in a mine, they really shouldn’t have to worry about some silly local ordinance popping up at some point,” he said.
Rathner said knife ordinances are sometimes proposed after an incident like a stabbing or knife fight.
The committee sent the bill to the Senate floor. The knife measure is similar to an existing law on firearms that keeps local governments from enacting gun restrictions that are stronger than the state’s.
Some committee members were hesitant -- the measure would also keep school districts from setting their own rules on knives.
Idaho state law bans deadly weapons from school grounds. That includes knives over 2.5 inches long.
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