I
106TH 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 6, 1999
Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. TALENT, Ms.
PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. CALLAHAN, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. TAYLOR of North
Carolina, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. HAYWORTH,
Mr. SUNUNU, Ms. DANNER, Mr. GOODE, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. EHRLICH, Mr.
LATOURETTE, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. RAHALL, Mr.
SMITH of Washington, Mr. HERGER, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. LEWIS of Ken-
tucky, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. COBURN,
Mr. JENKINS, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. SALMON, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. HALL of
Texas, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. PETERSON of Penn-
sylvania, and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred 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 ‘‘Community Protection
Act of 1999’’.
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 at all times;
‘‘(3) is not the subject of any disciplinary action
by the agency; and
‘‘(4) meets standards, if any, established by the
agency which require the employee to regularly qual-
ify in the use of a firearm.
‘‘(d) The identification required by this subsection is
the official badge and photographic identification issued
by the governmental agency for which the individual is em-
ployed as a law enforcement officer.’’.
(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 5 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
or, if the agency requires active duty officers to do
so with lesser frequency than every 12 months, dur-
ing such most recent period as the agency requires
with respect to active duty officers, has completed,
at the expense of the individual, a program approved
by the State for training or qualification in the use
of 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 State in which
the agency for which the individual was employed as a law
enforcement officer is located.’’.
(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.’’.
Æ