Knife rights bill continues to the Idaho Senate [Video]

BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in The Idaho Press.

The Idaho Legislature is seeking to preempt many potential knife regulations in the same way the state does with gun regulations.

The Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday passed HB 620, which prohibits local governments from creating regulations around knives with some exemptions.

“It’s important to realize that knives are arms and are protected by the Second Amendment, and if we are protecting firearms, we should do the same by protecting knives that are carried all day by many of our constituents,” said bill sponsor Representative Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene.

Redman presented the bill with Todd Rathner of Knife Rights, an Arizona-based nonprofit that opposes regulating the right to own, use or carry knives and edged tools, according to its website.

Rathner said the group has worked with 14 other states on similar legislation, …