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 Massachu-
setts, 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. MCGOV-
ERN, 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 Ala-
bama, 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. RA-
HALL, 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Enforcement Offi-
cers Safety Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OF-
FICERS 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: 
‘‘§ 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 indi-
vidual 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 pro-
hibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms 
on their property; or 
‘‘(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of fire-
arms on any State or local government property, in-
stallation, 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 super-
vise the prevention, detection, investigation, or pros-
ecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, 
any violation of law, and has statutory powers of ar-
rest; 
‘‘(2) is authorized by the agency to carry a fire-
arm; 
‘‘(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 qual-
ify in the use of a firearm; and 
‘‘(5) is not prohibited by Federal law from re-
ceiving a firearm. 
‘‘(d) The identification required by this subsection is 
the photographic identification issued by the governmental 
agency for which the individual is, or was, employed as 
a law enforcement officer. 
‘‘(e) DEFINED TERM.—As used in this section, the 
term ‘firearm’ does not include—
‘‘(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 
5845 of title 26);
‘‘(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 
921); and 
‘‘(3) any destructive device (as defined in sec-
tion 921).’’. 
(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 EN-
FORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM STATE LAWS 
PROHIBITING 
THE 
CARRYING 
OF 
CON-
CEALED FIREARMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 
States Code, is further amended by inserting after section 
926B the following: 
‘‘§ 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 indi-
vidual who is a qualified retired law enforcement officer 
and who is carrying the identification required by sub-
section (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 pro-
hibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms 
on their property; or 
‘‘(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of fire-
arms on any State or local government property, in-
stallation, building, base, or park. 
‘‘(c) As used in this section, the term ‘qualified re-
tired 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, detec-
tion, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarcer-
ation 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 aggre-
gate 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; and 
‘‘(6) is not prohibited by Federal law from re-
ceiving a firearm. 
‘‘(d) The identification required by this subsection is 
photographic identification issued by the agency for which 
the individual was employed as a law enforcement officer. 
‘‘(e) DEFINED TERM.—As used in this section, the 
term ‘firearm’ does not include—
‘‘(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 
5845 of title 26); 
‘‘(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 
921); and 
‘‘(3) a destructive device (as defined in section 
921).’’. 
(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 offi-
cers.’’.
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