Our police chief asked this question and I cannot find an answer. Switchblades are prohibited weapons in Texas. Something authorizes law enforcement officers to carry them. What is this? Also, what authorizes dealers who are not LEO's to possess trhem?

46.05(b) Penal Code, makes it a defense to prosecution that the conduct was incidental to perfomance of official duty as a LEO, military, or correctional facility,

This language is similar to that found elsewhere in chapter 46.

46.05(d)(1) Penal Code makes it an affirmative defense that the conduct was incidental to dealing with a switchbalde knife, springblade knife, or short-barrel firearm solely as an antique or curio

There is a provision in (d)(2) of 46.05 that provides an affirmative defense for conduct incident to making armor piercing ammunition available to LEOs, military, or correctional facility personnel. Curiously switchblade knives aren't mentioned there even though they are mentioned in (d)(1) for antique or curio purposes.

Anyway, the last time I saw a store carrying switchblade was twenty years ago in Corpus Christi's Sunrise Mall where they were clearly labelled as novelty items for entertainment purposes only. I'm still not sure what entertainment could be found with a switchblade knife in Corpus Christi in 1990 that wasn't prohibited in other sections of the penal code, but I digress.

Years ago, I came across a federal case and possibly a statutory exception to federal law for the possession of a switchblade for people who have lost an arm or have a disability in their arms/hands.

Tell them to get a one-handed-opener knife instead; the Legislature explicitly legalized them last session by excluding them from the defition of a switch-blade knife, so there's no confusion about those knives.