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A BILL
One Hundred Eighth
Congress
of the
United States of
America
AT THE SECOND
SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington
on Tuesday,
the twentieth day of January, two
thousand and four
An Act
To amend title 18, United States Code, to exempt qualified
current and former law enforcement officers from State laws prohibiting the
carrying of concealed handguns.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Law Enforcement Officers
Safety Act of 2004'.
SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
FROM STATE LAWS PROHIBITING THE CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIREARMS.
(a) In General- Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by inserting after section 926A the following:
`Sec. 926B. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified law
enforcement officers
`(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law of any
State or any political subdivision thereof, an individual who is a qualified law
enforcement officer and who is carrying the identification required by
subsection (d) may carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or
transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to subsection
(b).
`(b) This section shall not be construed to supersede or
limit the laws of any State that--
`(1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or
restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property;
or
`(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any
State or local government property, installation, building, base, or
park.
`(c) As used in this section, the term `qualified law
enforcement officer' means an employee of a governmental agency
who--
`(1) is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the
prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of
any person for, any violation of law, and has statutory powers of
arrest;
`(2) is authorized by the agency to carry a
firearm;
`(3) is not the subject of any disciplinary action by the
agency;
`(4) meets standards, if any, established by the agency
which require the employee to regularly qualify in the use of a
firearm;
`(5) is not under the influence of alcohol or another
intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and
`(6) is not prohibited by Federal law from receiving a
firearm.
`(d) The identification required by this subsection is the
photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the
individual is employed as a law enforcement officer.
`(e) As used in this section, the term `firearm' does not
include--
`(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 5845 of the
National Firearms Act);
`(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 921 of
this title); and
`(3) any destructive device (as defined in section 921 of
this title).'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 926A the
following:
`926B. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified law
enforcement officers.'.
SEC. 3. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS FROM STATE LAWS PROHIBITING THE CARRYING OF CONCEALED
FIREARMS.
(a) In General- Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code,
is further amended by inserting after section 926B the
following:
`Sec. 926C. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified
retired law enforcement officers
`(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law of any
State or any political subdivision thereof, an individual who is a qualified
retired law enforcement officer and who is carrying the identification required
by subsection (d) may carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or
transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to subsection
(b).
`(b) This section shall not be construed to supersede or
limit the laws of any State that--
`(1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or
restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property;
or
`(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any
State or local government property, installation, building, base, or
park.
`(c) As used in this section, the term `qualified retired
law enforcement officer' means an individual who--
`(1) retired in good standing from service with a public
agency as a law enforcement officer, other than for reasons of mental
instability;
`(2) before such retirement, was authorized by law to
engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution
of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and had
statutory powers of arrest;
`(3)(A) before such retirement, was regularly employed as a
law enforcement officer for an aggregate of 15 years or more;
or
`(B) retired from service with such agency, after
completing any applicable probationary period of such service, due to a
service-connected disability, as determined by such
agency;
`(4) has a nonforfeitable right to benefits under the
retirement plan of the agency;
`(5) during the most recent 12-month period, has met, at
the expense of the individual, the State's standards for training and
qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry
firearms;
`(6) is not under the influence of alcohol or another
intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and
`(7) is not prohibited by Federal law from receiving a
firearm.
`(d) The identification required by this subsection
is--
`(1) a photographic identification issued by the agency
from which the individual retired from service as a law enforcement officer that
indicates that the individual has, not less recently than one year before the
date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, been tested or otherwise
found by the agency to meet the standards established by the agency for training
and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry a firearm of the
same type as the concealed firearm; or
`(2)(A) a photographic identification issued by the agency
from which the individual retired from service as a law enforcement officer;
and
`(B) a certification issued by the State in which the
individual resides that indicates that the individual has, not less recently
than one year before the date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm,
been tested or otherwise found by the State to meet the standards established by
the State for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to
carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
`(e) As used in this section, the term `firearm' does not
include--
`(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 5845 of the
National Firearms Act);
`(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 921 of
this title); and
`(3) a destructive device (as defined in section 921 of
this title).'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for such
chapter is further amended by inserting after the item relating to section 926B
the following:
`926C. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified retired
law enforcement officers.'.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate
Chronology:
7/22/2004: Signed by President; Became Public Law No:
108-277
07/09/04 Message on Senate action sent to the
House
07/07/04 Cleared for White House
07/07/04 Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous
Consent
06/25/04 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative
Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 599
06/24/04 Received in the Senate. Read the first time.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First
Time
06/23/04 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to
without objection
06/23/04 On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill,
as amended Agreed to by voice vote
06/23/04 Considered under suspension of the
rules
06/23/04 Mr. Sensenbrenner moved to suspend the rules and
pass the bill, as amended
06/22/04 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No.
326
06/22/04 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary.
H. Rept. 108-560
06/16/04 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and
Nays: 23 - 9
06/16/04 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session
Held
06/15/04 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by
Voice Vote
06/15/04 Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session
Held
06/15/04 Subcommittee Hearings Held
03/06/03 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism,
and Homeland Security
01/07/03 Referred to the House Committee on the
Judiciary
01/07/03 Introduced by Rep Randy (Duke) Cunningham, 50th
District of California