IB 

Union Calendar No. 326 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 218 

[Report No. 108–560] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2003 

Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. GIBBONS, 

Mr. JENKINS, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. WAMP, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. 

MICA, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. MOORE, Mr. CRANE, Ms. BERKLEY, 

Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. KLECZKA, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. HALL, 

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. TERRY, Mr. RYAN

of Ohio, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. 

HOLDEN, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. LINDER, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. COBLE, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. 

FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. WALSH, Mr. KING of New York, Mrs. KELLY, 

Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. BUYER, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. 

KANJORSKI, Mr. FORBES, and Mr. BAKER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JUNE 22, 2004 

Additional sponsors: Mr. DINGELL, Mr. NEY, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. COMBEST, 

Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, Mr. CARSON

of Oklahoma, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. HOLT, 

Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. WALDEN

of Oregon, Mr. OTTER, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. MILLER of Florida, 

Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. KELLER, Mr. RENZI, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. SESSIONS, 

Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. UPTON, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. MEEHAN, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. CANNON, Mr. 
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BLUNT, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina, Mr. HULSHOF, Mr. NORWOOD, 

Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. THOMAS, Ms. HART, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. 

LAHOOD, Mr. GOODE, Mr. SCHROCK, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, 

Mr. HAYES, Mr. WELLER, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. QUINN, Mrs. MYRICK, Mrs. 

NORTHRUP, Mr. CHOCOLA, Mr. TURNER of Texas, Mr. WICKER, Mr. 

DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. FROST, Mr. GORDON, 

Mr. COOPER, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. GINGREY, 

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. BURR, Mr. ADERHOLT, Ms. CORRINE

BROWN of Florida, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. 

TANNER, Mr. PLATTS, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. GUTKNECHT, 

Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. 

LATOURETTE, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. TAYLOR

of Mississippi, Mr. FORD, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. 

PORTER, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. 

WEINER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. BONO, Mr. PENCE, Mr. FLETCHER, Mr. 

PORTMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. HASTINGS of 

Washington, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. 

VITTER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico, Mr. 

TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. ISSA, Mr. 

JOHN, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. COLE, Mr. 

SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SHAW, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. 

TANCREDO, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. 

CRENSHAW, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. HERGER, Mr. GOSS, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FILNER, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. DAVIS

of Illinois, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. HILL, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. 

OSE, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. DEAL of 

Georgia, Mr. LATHAM, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. 

PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. PETRI, Mr. BROWN of 

South Carolina, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. REGULA, 

Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. PITTS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. MILLER of 

Michigan, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. 

GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. 

LEVIN, Mr. JANKLOW, Mr. CAMP, Mr. CARTER, Mr. BACA, Ms. ESHOO, 

Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. COX, Mr. BURGESS, 

Ms. HARRIS, Mr. POMBO, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. OSBORNE, Ms. HOOLEY

of Oregon, Mr. PAUL, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, 

Ms. GRANGER, Mr. COLLINS, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. 

NUSSLE, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of 

California, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. REYES, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. MORAN of 

Virginia, Mr. NUNES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. 

KLINE, Mr. KIND, Mr. PUTNAM, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. 

ROTHMAN, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. TURNER of Ohio, Mr. 

BURNS, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. GONZALEZ, 

Mr. BOEHLERT, Ms. MAJETTE, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. AKIN, Ms. JACK-
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SON-LEE of Texas, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. 

RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. DEUTSCH, and Mr. BLUMENAUER. 

JUNE 22, 2004 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 7, 2003] 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Enforcement Offi5 cers Safety Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OF7 FICERS FROM STATE LAWS PROHIBITING THE 

8 CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIREARMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 926A the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘§ 926B. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified 

13 law enforcement officers 

14 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law 

15 of any State or any political subdivision thereof, an indi-
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1 vidual who is a qualified law enforcement officer and who 

2 is carrying the identification required by subsection (d) 

3 may carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or 

4 transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to 

5 subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(b) This section shall not be construed to supersede 

7 or limit the laws of any State that— 

8 ‘‘(1) permit private persons or entities to pro9 hibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms 

10 on their property; or 

11 ‘‘(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of fire12 arms on any State or local government property, in13 stallation, building, base, or park. 

14 ‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘qualified law 

15 enforcement officer’ means an employee of a governmental 

16 agency who— 

17 ‘‘(1) is authorized by law to engage in or super18 vise the prevention, detection, investigation, or pros19 ecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any 

20 violation of law, and has statutory powers of arrest; 

21 ‘‘(2) is authorized by the agency to carry a fire22 arm; 

23 ‘‘(3) is not the subject of any disciplinary action 

24 by the agency; 
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1 ‘‘(4) meets standards, if any, established by the 

2 agency which require the employee to regularly qual3 ify in the use of a firearm; 

4 ‘‘(5) is not under the influence of alcohol or an5 other intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(6) is not prohibited by Federal law from re8 ceiving a firearm. 

9 ‘‘(d) The identification required by this subsection is 

10 the photographic identification issued by the governmental 

11 agency for which the individual is employed as a law en12 forcement officer. 

13 ‘‘(e) As used in this section, the term ‘firearm’ does 

14 not include— 

15 ‘‘(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 5845 

16 of the National Firearms Act); 

17 ‘‘(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 

18 921 of this title); and 

19 ‘‘(3) any destructive device (as defined in section 

20 921 of this title).’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

22 such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

23 to section 926A the following: 

‘‘926B. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified law enforcement officers.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED RETIRED LAW ENFORCE2 MENT OFFICERS FROM STATE LAWS PROHIB3 ITING THE CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIRE4 ARMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is further amended by inserting after section 

7 926B the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 926C. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified 

9 retired law enforcement officers 

10 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law 

11 of any State or any political subdivision thereof, an indi12 vidual who is a qualified retired law enforcement officer 

13 and who is carrying the identification required by sub14 section (d) may carry a concealed firearm that has been 

15 shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, 

16 subject to subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(b) This section shall not be construed to supersede 

18 or limit the laws of any State that— 

19 ‘‘(1) permit private persons or entities to pro20 hibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms 

21 on their property; or 

22 ‘‘(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of fire23 arms on any State or local government property, in24 stallation, building, base, or park. 

25 ‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘qualified retired 

26 law enforcement officer’ means an individual who— 
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1 ‘‘(1) retired in good standing from service with 

2 a public agency as a law enforcement officer, other 

3 than for reasons of mental instability; 

4 ‘‘(2) before such retirement, was authorized by 

5 law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detec6 tion, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarcer7 ation of any person for, any violation of law, and 

8 had statutory powers of arrest; 

9 ‘‘(3)(A) before such retirement, was regularly em10 ployed as a law enforcement officer for an aggregate 

11 of 15 years or more; or 

12 ‘‘(B) retired from service with such agency, after 

13 completing any applicable probationary period of 

14 such service, due to a service-connected disability, as 

15 determined by such agency; 

16 ‘‘(4) has a nonforfeitable right to benefits under 

17 the retirement plan of the agency; 

18 ‘‘(5) during the most recent 12-month period, has 

19 met, at the expense of the individual, the State’s 

20 standards for training and qualification for active 

21 law enforcement officers to carry firearms; and 

22 ‘‘(6) is not prohibited by Federal law from re23 ceiving a firearm. 

24 ‘‘(d) The identification required by this subsection is— 
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1 ‘‘(1) a photographic identification issued by the 

2 agency from which the individual retired from service 

3 as a law enforcement officer that indicates that the 

4 individual has, not less recently than one year before 

5 the date the individual is carrying the concealed fire6 arm, been tested or otherwise found by the agency to 

7 meet the standards established by the agency for 

8 training and qualification for active law enforcement 

9 officers to carry a firearm of the same type as the 

10 concealed firearm; or 

11 ‘‘(2)(A) a photographic identification issued by 

12 the agency from which the individual retired from 

13 service as a law enforcement officer; and 

14 ‘‘(B) a certification issued by the State in which 

15 the individual resides that indicates that the indi16 vidual has, not less recently than one year before the 

17 date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, 

18 been tested or otherwise found by the State to meet the 

19 standards established by the State for training and 

20 qualification for active law enforcement officers to 

21 carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed fire22 arm. 

23 ‘‘(e) As used in this section, the term ‘firearm’ does 

24 not include— 
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1 ‘‘(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 5845 

2 of the National Firearms Act); 

3 ‘‘(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 

4 921 of this title); and 

5 ‘‘(3) a destructive device (as defined in section 

6 921 of this title).’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

8 such chapter is further amended by inserting after the item 

9 relating to section 926B the following: 

‘‘926C. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified retired law enforcement officers.’’. 
Union Calendar No. 326 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 218 

[Report No. 108–560] 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to exempt 

concealed handguns. ficers from State laws prohibiting the carrying of qualified current and former law enforcement ofJUNE 22, 2004 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,