Hawaii’s Amended Butterfly Knife Ban Complicates Federal Appeal

A federal appeals court on Tuesday grappled with how Hawaii’s recent amendments to a law banning “butterfly” knives could ultimately resolve a yearslong Second Amendment challenge to the original law.

Prospective butterfly knife owners seeking to use them for self-defense originally won their case before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2023, but the Hawaii state legislature threw a procedural wrench into the case this year by changing the all out ban of the weapon to a ban on the concealed carry of the knives.

An 11-judge en banc panel for the appeals court heard arguments ...