I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 218

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 

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Enforcement Offi3 cers Safety Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OF5 FICERS FROM STATE LAWS PROHIBITING 

6 THE CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIREARMS. 

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

8 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 926A 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 926B. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified 

11 law enforcement officers 

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

13 of any State or any political subdivision thereof, an indi14 vidual who is a qualified law enforcement officer and who 

15 is carrying the identification required by subsection (d) 

16 may carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or 

17 transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to 

18 subsection (b). 

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

20 or limit the laws of any State that—

21 ‘‘(1) permit private persons or entities to pro22 hibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms 

23 on their property; or 

24 ‘‘(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of fire25 arms on any State or local government property, in26 stallation, building, base, or park. 
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1 ‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘qualified law 

2 enforcement officer’ means an employee of a governmental 

3 agency who—

4 ‘‘(1) is authorized by law to engage in or super5 vise the prevention, detection, investigation, or pros6 ecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, 

7 any violation of law, and has statutory powers of ar8 rest; 

9 ‘‘(2) is authorized by the agency to carry a fire10 arm; 

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

12 by the agency; 

13 ‘‘(4) meets standards, if any, established by the 

14 agency which require the employee to regularly qual15 ify in the use of a firearm; and 

16 ‘‘(5) is not prohibited by Federal law from re17 ceiving a firearm. 

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

19 the photographic identification issued by the governmental 

20 agency for which the individual is, or was, employed as 

21 a law enforcement officer. 

22 ‘‘(e) DEFINED TERM.—As used in this section, the 

23 term ‘firearm’ does not include—

24 ‘‘(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 

25 5845 of title 26); 
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1 ‘‘(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 

2 921); and 

3 ‘‘(3) any destructive device (as defined in sec4 tion 921).’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

6 for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item 

7 relating to section 926A the following:

‘‘926B. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified law enforcement officers.’’.

8 SEC. 3. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED RETIRED LAW EN9 FORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM STATE LAWS 

10 PROHIBITING THE CARRYING OF CON11 CEALED FIREARMS. 

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

13 States Code, is further amended by inserting after section 

14 926B the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 926C. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified 

16 retired law enforcement officers 

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

18 of any State or any political subdivision thereof, an indi19 vidual who is a qualified retired law enforcement officer 

20 and who is carrying the identification required by sub21 section (d) may carry a concealed firearm that has been 

22 shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, 

23 subject to subsection (b). 

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

25 or limit the laws of any State that—
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1 ‘‘(1) permit private persons or entities to pro2 hibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms 

3 on their property; or 

4 ‘‘(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of fire5 arms on any State or local government property, in6 stallation, building, base, or park. 

7 ‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘qualified re8 tired law enforcement officer’ means an individual who—

9 ‘‘(1) retired in good standing from service with 

10 a public agency as a law enforcement officer, other 

11 than for reasons of mental instability; 

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

13 law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detec14 tion, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarcer15 ation of any person for, any violation of law, and 

16 had statutory powers of arrest; 

17 ‘‘(3)(A) before such retirement, was regularly 

18 employed as a law enforcement officer for an aggre19 gate of 15 years or more; or 

20 ‘‘(B) retired from service with such agency, 

21 after completing any applicable probationary period 

22 of such service, due to a service-connected disability, 

23 as determined by such agency; 

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

25 the retirement plan of the agency; 
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1 ‘‘(5) during the most recent 12-month period, 

2 has met, at the expense of the individual, the State’s 

3 standards for training and qualification for active 

4 law enforcement officers to carry firearms; and 

5 ‘‘(6) is not prohibited by Federal law from re6 ceiving a firearm. 

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

8 photographic identification issued by the agency for which 

9 the individual was employed as a law enforcement officer. 

10 ‘‘(e) DEFINED TERM.—As used in this section, the 

11 term ‘firearm’ does not include—

12 ‘‘(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 

13 5845 of title 26); 

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

15 921); and 

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

17 921).’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 for such chapter is further amended by inserting after the 

20 item relating to section 926B the following:

‘‘926C. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified retired law enforcement officers.’’.

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