II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 727

To exempt qualified current and former law enforcement officers from State

laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms and to allow States

to enter into compacts to recognize other States’ concealed weapons

permits.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 25, 1999

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself and Mr. HATCH) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To exempt qualified current and former law enforcement

officers from State laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms and to allow States to enter into compacts to recognize other States’ concealed weapons permits.

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 Pro5 tection Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED CURRENT AND FORMER

2 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM STATE

3 LAWS PROHIBITING THE CARRYING OF CON4 CEALED FIREARMS.

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

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

7 the following:

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

9 current and former law enforcement offi10 cers

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision

12 of the law of any State or any political subdivision of a

13 State, an individual may carry a concealed firearm if that

14 individual is—

15 ‘‘(1) a qualified law enforcement officer or a

16 qualified former law enforcement officer; and

17 ‘‘(2) carrying appropriate written identification.

18 ‘‘(b) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—

19 ‘‘(1) COMMON CARRIERS.—Nothing in this sec20 tion shall be construed to exempt from section

21 46505(B)(1) of title 49—

22 ‘‘(A) a qualified law enforcement officer

23 who does not meet the requirements of section

24 46505(D) of title 49; or

25 ‘‘(B) a qualified former law enforcement

26 officer.
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1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL LAWS.—Nothing in this section

2 shall be construed to supersede or limit any Federal

3 law or regulation prohibiting or restricting the pos4 session of a firearm on any Federal property, instal5 lation, building, base, or park.

6 ‘‘(3) STATE LAWS.—Nothing in this section

7 shall be construed to supersede or limit the laws of

8 any State that—

9 ‘‘(A) grant rights to carry a concealed fire10 arm that are broader than the rights granted

11 under this section;

12 ‘‘(B) permit private persons or entities to

13 prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed

14 firearms on their property; or

15 ‘‘(C) prohibit or restrict the possession of

16 firearms on any State or local government prop17 erty, installation, building, base, or park.

18 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

19 ‘‘(A) APPROPRIATE WRITTEN IDENTIFICA20 TION.—The term ‘appropriate written identi21 fication’ means, with respect to an individual, a

22 document that—

23 ‘‘(i) was issued to the individual by

24 the public agency with which the individual
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1 serves or served as a qualified law enforce2 ment officer; and

3 ‘‘(ii) identifies the holder of the docu4 ment as a current or former officer, agent,

5 or employee of the agency.

6 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OF7 FICER.—The term ‘qualified law enforcement

8 officer’ means an individual who—

9 ‘‘(i) is presently authorized by law to

10 engage in or supervise the prevention, de11 tection, or investigation of any violation of

12 criminal law;

13 ‘‘(ii) is authorized by the agency to

14 carry a firearm in the course of duty;

15 ‘‘(iii) meets any requirements estab16 lished by the agency with respect to fire17 arms; and

18 ‘‘(iv) is not the subject of a discipli19 nary action by the agency that prevents

20 the carrying of a firearm.

21 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED FORMER LAW ENFORCE22 MENT OFFICER.—The term ‘qualified former

23 law enforcement officer’ means, an individual

24 who is—
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1 ‘‘(i) retired from service with a public

2 agency, other than for reasons of mental

3 disability;

4 ‘‘(ii) immediately before such retire5 ment, was a qualified law enforcement offi6 cer with that public agency;

7 ‘‘(iii) has a nonforfeitable right to

8 benefits under the retirement plan of the

9 agency;

10 ‘‘(iv) was not separated from service

11 with a public agency due to a disciplinary

12 action by the agency that prevented the

13 carrying of a firearm;

14 ‘‘(v) meets the requirements estab15 lished by the State in which the individual

16 resides with respect to—

17 ‘‘(I) training in the use of fire18 arms; and

19 ‘‘(II) carrying a concealed weap20 on; and

21 ‘‘(vi) is not prohibited by Federal law

22 from receiving a firearm.

23 ‘‘(D) FIREARM.—The term ‘firearm’

24 means, any firearm that has, or of which any
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1 component has, traveled in interstate or foreign

2 commerce.’’.

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis

4 for chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

5 by inserting after the item relating to section 926A the

6 following:

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

7 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO INTERSTATE COM8 PACTS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The consent of Congress is given

10 to any 2 or more States—

11 (1) to enter into compacts or agreements for co12 operative effort in enabling individuals to carry con13 cealed weapons as dictated by laws of the State

14 within which the owner of the weapon resides and is

15 authorized to carry a concealed weapon; and

16 (2) to establish agencies or guidelines as they

17 may determine to be appropriate for making effec18 tive such agreements and compacts.

19 (b) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.—The right to alter,

20 amend, or repeal this section is hereby expressly reserved

21 by Congress.

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