Knife bill amended in wake of UT attack

AUSTIN — House lawmakers swiftly granted preliminary approval on a voice vote Monday to a heavily amended bill to repeal the definition of “illegal knives” just one week after a fatal attack at the University of Texas put the spotlight on those types of weapons.

An amendment to the bill introduced by Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, sought to address concerns over campus security by retaining restrictions on certain types of knives at educational institutions and other places. “They will not be allowed on school property,” Dutton said.

The revised House Bill 1935 would change current law by replacing the list of weapons classified under “illegal knife” in the Texas Penal Code with the term “location-restricted knife,” defined as a knife with a blade over 5½ inches in length.

In addition to schools, the amendment to the bill would also ban the knives from the premises of bars, sporting events, churches, amusement parks, correctional institutions, and hospitals and nursing homes.

The proposed legislation also removes a ban on the sale of such knives to minors, but the amended version imposes additional restrictions on where and how they can carry the knives.

The bill’s primary author, Rep. John Frullo, R-Lubbock, had garnered bipartisan support from five other representatives who signed on as joint authors and co-authors. He described existing law as “fundamentally unfair and discriminatory” for criminalizing the possession of knives in places where it would be legal to carry a firearm.

Debate on the bill was originally scheduled for Friday, but was postponed in light of the timing so soon after the UT stabbings.

On May 1, UT-Austin student Kendrix White was arrested in connection with a knife attack on campus that left one dead and three others injured. The weapon used in the stabbings was described by police as a Bowie knife, a type of large hunting knife that would fall under the definition of “location-restricted knife.” On Friday, the House approved a memorial resolution to honor the student who was killed in the attack.

Existing state law defines “illegal knives” as including those with blades longer than 5½ inches, daggers, Bowie knives, spears, swords, and instruments designed to cut or stab by being thrown.

Supporters of the legislation contend that these definitions caused confusion among citizens, law enforcement, and the courts, and they also argue that the state’s treatment of knives is out of sync with the state’s expansion of gun rights in recent years.

A bill similar to HB 1935 passed the House in 2015 but failed to make it to the governor’s desk.