Texans can now open carry swords

AUSTIN -- If you venture to Texas, don't be alarmed if you see someone walking down the street with a sword.

The Texas Legislature's "open carry for swords" law went into effect Sept. 1, but law enforcement officials are telling Texans that they don't anticipate major troubles.

James McLaughlin Jr., executive director for the Texas Police Chiefs Association, said there's no question, though, that some people will see someone carrying a large knife or sword and call the police.

"We'll see if there are any real issues that come up with it. I'm sure we'll get people calling like they did with the long guns and we'll go out and talk to them, but I don't expect much more than people just trying to make a statement," McLaughlin said.

State Rep. John Frullo's House Bill 1935 was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott during the 85th Legislature's regular session and has been making national headlines ever since. The law will remove most restrictions on carrying large, bladed weapons in public, but also adds a long list of location and age restrictions.

Frullo, a Republican from Lubbock, said he doesn't understand why his bill has attracted so much public attention. He said he just wants to simplify the current laws for law enforcement.

"What we wanted to do was make a law where citizens could understand it, law enforcement could understand it and the judicial system could understand it," Frullo said. "It adds clarity. All we have to do is use a tape measure and we can tell whether or not a knife is legal to carry."

The "five-and-a-half inch rule" is the main feature of the law, removing all previous restrictions on knives, swords, clubs and spears and making them illegal only if longer than five-and-a-half inches and carried inside of places like schools, churches, hospitals and sporting events. It also restricts anyone under the age of 18 from carrying these types of blades.

Following the May 1 stabbing on the University of Texas at Austin, passage on the bill was delayed, but it still faced no major opposition in the Texas Legislature. Frullo said his bill specifically names college campuses as a restricted area and would not have stopped the attacker.

Photo: Kirk Sides Knife collector Lloyd Lively discusses a Cold Steel Laredo Bowie...

"The knife was already illegal to have on the UT campus.," Frullo said. "That didn't prevent that from happening."

Sword enthusiasts have voiced concerns with some of the possible effects of the law.

Hunter Follett, owner of Dallas-area sword shop Swords of Might, said the law might give a bad name to those who collect and train with medieval weaponry.

"I think it's an OK law," Follett said. "Swords have been carried for 5,000 years, but I don't want people going out in the streets who don't know what they're doing or don't have training in carrying a sword and potentially frightening people."

In the lead-up to the Sept. 1 start date for the law, Follett said he has seen a noticeable uptick in his business. And he voiced concerns that the interest in bladed weapons could lead to more accidents if people use them without proper care and training.