II 

Calendar No. 599 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 218 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2004 

Received and read the first time 

JUNE 25, 2004 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

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. 

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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HR 218 PCS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Enforcement Offi3 cers Safety Act of 2004’’. 

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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HR 218 PCS 

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; 

16 ‘‘(5) is not under the influence of alcohol or an17 other intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or sub18 stance; and 

19 ‘‘(6) is not prohibited by Federal law from re20 ceiving a firearm. 

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

22 the photographic identification issued by the governmental 

23 agency for which the individual is employed as a law en24 forcement officer. 
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HR 218 PCS 

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

2 not include— 

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

4 5845 of the National Firearms Act); 

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

6 921 of this title); and 

7 ‘‘(3) any destructive device (as defined in sec8 tion 921 of this title).’’. 

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

10 for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item 

11 relating to section 926A the following: 

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

12 SEC. 3. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED RETIRED LAW EN13 FORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM STATE LAWS 

14 PROHIBITING THE CARRYING OF CON15 CEALED FIREARMS. 

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

17 States Code, is further amended by inserting after section 

18 926B the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 926C. Carrying of concealed firearms by qualified 

20 retired law enforcement officers 

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

22 of any State or any political subdivision thereof, an indi23 vidual who is a qualified retired law enforcement officer 

24 and who is carrying the identification required by sub25 section (d) may carry a concealed firearm that has been 
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HR 218 PCS 

1 shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, 

2 subject to subsection (b). 

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

4 or limit the laws of any State that— 

5 ‘‘(1) permit private persons or entities to pro6 hibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms 

7 on their property; or 

8 ‘‘(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of fire9 arms on any State or local government property, in10 stallation, building, base, or park. 

11 ‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘qualified re12 tired law enforcement officer’ means an individual who— 

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

14 a public agency as a law enforcement officer, other 

15 than for reasons of mental instability; 

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

17 law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detec18 tion, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarcer19 ation of any person for, any violation of law, and 

20 had statutory powers of arrest; 

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

22 employed as a law enforcement officer for an aggre23 gate of 15 years or more; or 

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

25 after completing any applicable probationary period 
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HR 218 PCS 

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

2 as determined by such agency; 

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

4 the retirement plan of the agency; 

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

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

7 standards for training and qualification for active 

8 law enforcement officers to carry firearms; 

9 ‘‘(6) is not under the influence of alcohol or an10 other intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or sub11 stance; and 

12 ‘‘(7) is not prohibited by Federal law from re13 ceiving a firearm. 

14 ‘‘(d) The identification required by this subsection 

15 is— 

16 ‘‘(1) a photographic identification issued by the 

17 agency from which the individual retired from serv18 ice as a law enforcement officer that indicates that 

19 the individual has, not less recently than one year 

20 before the date the individual is carrying the con21 cealed firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the 

22 agency to meet the standards established by the 

23 agency for training and qualification for active law 

24 enforcement officers to carry a firearm of the same 

25 type as the concealed firearm; or 
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HR 218 PCS 

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

2 the agency from which the individual retired from 

3 service as a law enforcement officer; and 

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

5 the individual resides that indicates that the indi6 vidual has, not less recently than one year before the 

7 date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, 

8 been tested or otherwise found by the State to meet 

9 the standards established by the State for training 

10 and qualification for active law enforcement officers 

11 to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed 

12 firearm. 

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

14 not include— 

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

16 5845 of the National Firearms Act); 

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

18 921 of this title); and 

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

20 921 of this title).’’. 

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

22 for such chapter is further amended by inserting after the 

23 item relating to section 926B the following: 
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HR 218 PCS 

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

Passed the House of Representatives June 23, 2004. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk. 

Calendar No. 599 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 218 

AN ACT 

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 25, 2004 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar