I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2421
To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to regulate the sale
and manufacture of certain armor piercing ammunition and armor pierc-
ing incendiary ammunition, and to regulate laser sights under the Na-
tional Firearms Act.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 1, 1999
Mr. BLAGOJEVICH (for himself, Mr. WAXMAN, and Ms. NORTON) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to
regulate the sale and manufacture of certain armor pierc-
ing ammunition and armor piercing incendiary ammuni-
tion, and to regulate laser sights under the National
Firearms Act.
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-
cial Protection and Officer John C. Knight Memorial Act
of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) Chicago Police Officer John C. Knight, a
man who emulated his father by dedicating his life
to preserving public safety, left behind his wife and
three children when he was killed in the line of duty
on January 9, 1999 by a felon armed with handgun
equipped with a laser sight device.
(2) More than any other weapon, firearms pose
the greatest threat to our Nation’s law enforcement
officers. Between 1988 and 1997, firearms claimed
the lives of 92 percent of the 688 officers killed in
the line of duty and another 30,705 were assaulted
with guns.
(3) The risk to our Nation’s law enforcement
officers increases when violent offenders possess
lethality-enhancing devices, such as laser sights, that
are easily accessible and highly unregulated.
(4) Ammunition known as ‘‘armor piercing’’ or
‘‘armor piercing incendiary’’, which can puncture po-
lice body armor, light armored vehicles, ballistic or
armored glass and armored limousines, also poses a
threat to the lives and the mission of our Nation’s
law enforcement officers.
(5) Armor piercing and armor piercing incen-
diary ammunition, designed for use in military rifles,
is readily available for virtually unrestricted sale on
the civilian market. The potential uses for such am-
munition by violent offenders, terrorists or others
against law enforcement personnel or critical compo-
nents of the national infrastructure presents a seri-
ous threat to public safety and national security.
(6) While handguns are the most commonly
used weapons in the murders of both law enforce-
ment officers and civilians, current law doesn’t re-
strict the development of future generations of
armor piercing ammunition for use in handguns.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN MILITARY AMMUNITION
AS ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION; USE OF
PERFORMANCE STANDARD.
Section 921(a)(17) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (B)—
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause
(i);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
clause (ii) and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(iii) a projectile which the Secretary has deter-
mined is substantially similar in design and manu-
facture to any ammunition which is or has been des-
ignated for use as armor piercing, armor piercing in-
cendiary, or armor piercing tracing by any military
or law enforcement authority of the United States;
or
‘‘(iv) a projectile which the Secretary finds is
capable of penetrating the Executive Protection Ex-
emplar.’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(D)(i) Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall pro-
mulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles
against the Executive Protection Exemplar. The standards
shall take into account, among other factors, the effective
range of firearms from which the projectile may be fired
and the nature of the propellants available for use.
‘‘(ii) In this paragraph, the term ‘Executive Protec-
tion Exemplar’ means the minimum level of armor or
other protective material, including ballistic glass but not
including body armor, that the Secretary determines is es-
sential to the effective protection of law enforcement per-
sonnel and their public safety mission.’’.
SEC. 4. COVERAGE OF LASER SIGHTS AND LASER-SIGHT
EQUIPPED FIREARMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section
5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining
firearm) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and (8)’’ and inserting ‘‘(8)’’,
and
(2) by inserting before the period ‘‘; (9) any
laser sight suitable for use as a sight for any firearm
(as defined in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United
States Code); and (10) any firearm (as defined in
such section 921(a)(3)) on which any laser sight is
permanently mounted.’’
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 5. REGULATION OF THE MANUFACTURE, IMPORTA-
TION, AND SALE OF PROJECTILES THAT MAY
BE USED IN A HANDGUN AND ARE CAPABLE
OF PENETRATING POLICE BODY ARMOR.
(a) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF ARMOR PIERCING
AMMUNITION.—Section 921(a)(17)(B) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (iii);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause
(iv) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and