Louisiana ban on switchblades should be lifted, House votes

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Louisiana would remove its little-known ban on switchblade knives from the books, if the Senate agrees to a repeal a measure that has won overwhelming support in the House.
  
House lawmakers voted 83-0 Friday for the proposal by Rep. Mark Wright, a Covington Republican.
  
Current law prohibits the ownership, possession or use of a switchblade in Louisiana or a similar spring-loaded knife, except for law enforcement officers.
  
Wright says Louisiana is one of only a handful of states that has such a 1950s-era ban on switchblades still in law. He says most states that once had the bans have scrapped their similar laws.
  
The bill heads next to the Senate for debate.