Knife Owners’ Protection Act of 2025
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
Would establish a federal right for any law-abiding individual to transport knives across state lines, overriding state and local knife laws as long as specific secure-storage requirements are met during the journey.
By creating a private right of action, a criminal-case burden-shifting rule, and mandatory attorney's fees for prevailing non-government plaintiffs, the bill would give travelers concrete legal tools to contest knife-related arrests or detentions that violate the new federal standard.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would create a federal right for any individual not otherwise prohibited by federal law from possessing knives to transport them between any two places where possession and carry are lawful. Storage requirements vary by transport mode: in a motor vehicle, the knife must be out of the passenger compartment's direct reach or in a locked container, glove compartment, or console; by air, in a locked container outside the passenger cabin; by other means, in a locked container. Emergency seat-belt-cutting knives would be exempt from locked-storage rules in motor vehicles, though not on aircraft subject to TSA screening. Overnight stops, fuel stops, and similar travel interruptions would count as part of the protected journey.
The bill would bar police from arresting or detaining a compliant traveler for state or local knife violations absent probable cause of a storage violation. Individuals could assert federal compliance as a defense in civil or criminal proceedings, with the government bearing the burden of disproving compliance beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases. A private right of action with mandatory attorney's fees for prevailing non-government parties would enforce the new rights against state officials acting under color of law.
Key provisions
- 1Would establish a federal right to transport knives interstate between places where lawful, superseding contrary state and local laws, subject to mode-specific locked-storage requirements.
- 2Would exempt emergency seat-belt-cutting knives from locked-storage rules in motor vehicles, but not on aircraft subject to TSA passenger screening.
- 3Would prohibit arrest or detention of a compliant traveler for state or local knife violations unless there is probable cause to believe the storage requirements were violated.
- 4Would allow individuals to assert the act as a claim or defense in any civil or criminal proceeding; in criminal cases, the government must disprove compliance beyond a reasonable doubt.
- 5Would create a private right of action against state actors who deprive travelers of these rights, with mandatory attorney's fees for prevailing non-government parties.
Who would be affected
Individuals who travel by car, air, or other means between states or localities with differing knife laws — including hunters, outdoor workers, collectors, and self-defense carriers. State and local law enforcement would be constrained from making knife-related arrests of compliant travelers, and state governments could face civil liability and attorney's fees for violations.
Why it matters
Travelers who currently risk arrest when passing through jurisdictions with stricter knife laws than their home state would gain a clear federal safe harbor and the ability to sue officials who violate it. The attorney's fees provision would incentivize private litigation, potentially reshaping how states and localities enforce knife ordinances against interstate travelers.
What would change
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 60, the Knife Owners' Protection Act, would have no significant effect on the federal budget, with zero impact on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit over the 2025–2035 period.
CBO estimates that H.R. 60 would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the federal deficit in any scoring window through 2035, because the bill would not change any federal laws related to possessing or transporting knives. The bill would impose both intergovernmental and private-sector mandates — preempting state and local knife-possession and transportation laws, and preventing lodging owners and transport companies from banning knives on their property — but CBO estimates the costs of complying with these mandates would be small and below the statutory thresholds ($103 million for intergovernmental and $206 million for private-sector mandates in 2025, adjusted for inflation). Spending subject to appropriation (discretionary spending) was estimated at zero for 2025–2030 and was not estimated for the 2025–2035 window.
How implementation would work
The bill is largely self-executing — it sets specific storage standards travelers must meet and creates enforcement mechanisms through the courts rather than federal agency rulemaking. No agency is directed to issue regulations. In state criminal proceedings, travelers may assert federal compliance as a defense, automatically shifting the burden of proof to the government. The private right of action and mandatory attorney's fees provision would likely drive civil litigation testing state and local enforcement practices against the new federal standard.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 13 - 10.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill permits an individual to transport a knife between two places (e.g., states) where knife possession, carry, or transport is legal. The knife must be transported in compliance with the bill's accessibility and secure storage requirements, unless it is an emergency knife or tool designed to cut seat belts.
An individual who is transporting a knife in compliance with this bill may not be arrested or detained for a knife violation unless there is probable cause to believe the individual failed to comply with the accessibility or secure storage requirements. An individual may assert compliance with this bill as a claim or defense in any civil or criminal proceeding.
Legislative subjects
Aviation and airports; Civil actions and liability; Crime and Law Enforcement; Intergovernmental relations; Legal fees and court costs; Motor vehicles; State and local government operations