Virginia Switchblade Concealed Carry Ban Repeal Signed by Governor

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Monday evening signed HB 2298 which removes switchblades from the list of weapons that cannot be carried concealed in the state.

NOTE: Repeal does not become effective until July 1st. Until that date, concealed carry of automatic knives remains illegal in Virginia.

We sincerely appreciate Delegate Lee Ware for sponsoring this bill. We also must acknowledge the support for this effort from our good friends at the Virginia Citizens Defense League and especially, President Philip Van Cleave. Knife Rights will continue to work with our friends in Virginia to remove all knife restrictions in the future.

As noted previously, the bill was amended to add “stiletto” to the list of items that cannot be carried concealed. This is essentially superfluous because prior court decisions in Virginia have held that a stiletto and dagger are “of like kind” to a “dirk,” which has long been prohibited from concealed carry. As such, take note that dirks, stilettos, and daggers are already prohibited, and remain prohibited, from concealed carry in Virginia.

Our repeal last year of Virginia’s ban on switchblades (automatic) knives did not include the repeal of the ban on concealed carry. This bill takes care of that.