Interstate Transport Act of 2025

The bill would establish a federal right to transport a knife between any two places where that knife may be lawfully possessed, carried, or transported, notwithstanding conflicting state or local laws. To qualify, the traveler must store the knife so it is not directly accessible from the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle — or, in a vehicle with no separate compartment, in a locked container other than the glove box or console. For travel by non-motor-vehicle means, the knife must be in a locked container. Emergency seat-belt-cutter tools with blunt or guarded blades are exempt from the locked-container requirement. The bill explicitly does not preempt Transportation Security Administration rules governing aircraft cabins.

A compliant traveler could not be arrested for a state or local knife violation unless there is probable cause to believe the storage requirements were not met. If a person raises the bill as a claim or defense and prevails in a civil or criminal proceeding, the court would be required to award costs and reasonable attorney's fees — and, in a criminal case, to expunge all records of the arrest and proceedings.

Individuals who travel across state or territorial lines with knives — including hunters, outdoor recreationists, tradespeople, and everyday commuters — who might otherwise face arrest under local knife laws. State and local law enforcement officers would be constrained from making knife-related arrests of compliant travelers. Defense attorneys and courts would also be affected by the mandatory fee-shifting and expungement provisions.

Travelers passing through jurisdictions with strict knife restrictions currently risk arrest and prosecution even when their conduct is legal where they started and where they are headed. This bill would give those travelers a federal shield against such enforcement and a meaningful remedy — mandatory attorney's fees and expungement — if they are arrested anyway, shifting the legal and financial risk of enforcement onto prosecuting authorities.

The bill is largely self-executing: it creates a federal statutory right that travelers can assert as a claim or defense in any state civil or criminal proceeding. No agency rulemaking is required. Courts adjudicating knife-related charges would apply the storage-compliance standard and, upon a finding for the defendant, would be mandated to award attorney's fees and enter an expungement order. The TSA's existing cabin rules remain intact as a carve-out, preserving the separate regulatory regime for air travel.