--- description: Texans will soon be able to carry a whole host of new weapons, including swords, spears, daggers and more. The law goes into effect Sept. 1 title: Texas Will Soon Let You Openly Carry a Sword (and Many Other Weapons) image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Texas](/tag/texas/) ## Texas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Texas Will Soon Let You Openly Carry a Sword (and Many Other Weapons) by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 13, 2017 11:16 PM CUT by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 13, 2017 11:16 PM CUT Texans will soon be able to carry a whole host of new weapons, including swords, spears, daggers and more. The Lone Star state has passed a law that will allow residents to openly carry knives with blades longer than 5.5 inches, [CNN reports](http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/13/us/texas-sword-knives-law-trnd/index.html "undefined"). Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed [the bill](http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/85R/billtext/pdf/HB01935F.pdf#navpanes=0 "undefined") in June, but it does not go into effect until Sept. 1. People could already carry knives with blades under the 5.5-inch limit, but they generally could not purchase or carry longer weapons. Now they will be able to take many more weapons with them when they run errands, for example, or when acting out their favorite scenes from _Game of Thrones_ in the local park. The new law won’t apply to places like schools, prisons, hospitals, amusement parks or places of worship, according to CNN. And if you’re going to a sports event or a bar, you’ll have to leave your sword at home. Texas is not the first state to enact such a law. Montana and Oklahoma have both passed legislation scrapping their bans on bladed weapons in the past few years, CNN reported. But after a man was accused of killing a University of Texas at Austin student and wounding three others [with a hunting knife](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-stabbing-idUSKBN17X2AA "undefined"), debate on the legislation was delayed. Still, State Rep. John Frullo, who authored the bill, told CNN he stands by his law. “[House Bill 1935 ](http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/85R/billtext/pdf/HB01935F.pdf#navpanes=0 "undefined")provides a common sense solution by prohibiting any knife with a blade over five-and-a-half inches in certain location restricted areas,” he said in a statement. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4857911/texas-sword-knives-law/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4857911/texas-sword-knives-law/"},"headline":"Texas Will Soon Let You Openly Carry a Sword (and Many Other Weapons)","datePublished":"2017-07-13T23:16:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:07:44.398Z","description":"The law goes into effect Sept. 1","url":"https://time.com/4857911/texas-sword-knives-law/","keywords":["Texas","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/texas/","name":"Texas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4857911/texas-sword-knives-law/","name":"Texas Will Soon Let You Openly Carry a Sword (and Many Other Weapons)"}}]}] ```