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A state appeals court had ruled that Pennsylvania's ban on switchblade knives does not violate the constitutional right to bear arms.

William Battle probably wishes he'd emptied his pockets before entering the Pike County Administration Building in July 2014.



But he didn't, and a sheriff's deputy quickly noticed the switchblade knife with a 4-inch blade that Battle pulled from his pants as he prepared to go through the metal detector.



The deputy charged Battle with possessing a prohibited offensive weapon, since under state law it is illegal to have a switchblade knife of any kind. The 25-year-old Tamiment man was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison.



On Thursday, a state Superior Court panel shot down Battle's claim that his conviction, and the state law on which it was based, violates his constitutional right to keep and bear arms.



Judge Lillian Harris Ransom wrote in the state court's opinion that, despite Battle's claim he had the knife for self defense, switchblade knives are commonly used only for attack. So, she concluded, no law-abiding citizen is justified in carrying one.



The decision marks Battle's second failed bid to invoke the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. A county judge also rejected that argument.



"Offensive weapons are not covered by the constitutional right to bear arms," Ransom wrote. She cited the section of the Pennsylvania Crime Code that bans the possession of "a dagger, knife, razor or cutting instrument, the blade of which is exposed in an automatic way by switch, push-button, spring mechanism or otherwise."



"While it is conceivable that (Battle) possessed a switchblade knife for self defense, that is not a switchblade's common purpose," Ransom wrote.



Here are the knives that are legal, illegal to own in Pennsylvania