Charshooter
Member
If it is not broke, don't fix it!
The law that keeps old lawmen on duty is a good thing
The law that keeps old lawmen on duty is a good thing
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004'.
SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF QUALIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS 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:
`Sec. 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 individual 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 prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or
`(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, 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 supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and has statutory powers of arrest;
`(2) is authorized by the agency to carry a firearm;
`(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 qualify in the use of a firearm;
`(5) is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and
`(6) is not prohibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm.
`(d) The identification required by this subsection is the photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is employed as a law enforcement officer.
`(e) As used in this section, the term `firearm' does not include--
`(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 5845 of the National Firearms Act);
`(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 921 of this title); and
`(3) any destructive device (as defined in section 921 of this title).'.
(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 ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM STATE LAWS PROHIBITING THE CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIREARMS.
(a) In General- Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is further amended by inserting after section 926B the following:
`Sec. 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 individual who is a qualified retired 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 prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or
`(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park.
`(c) As used in this section, the term `qualified retired 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, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration 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 aggregate 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;
`(6) is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and
`(7) is not prohibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm.
`(d) The identification required by this subsection is--
`(1) a photographic identification issued by the agency from which the individual retired from service as a law enforcement officer that indicates that the individual has, not less recently than one year before the date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the agency to meet the standards established by the agency for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm; or
`(2)(A) a photographic identification issued by the agency from which the individual retired from service as a law enforcement officer; and
`(B) a certification issued by the State in which the individual resides that indicates that the individual has, not less recently than one year before the date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the State to meet the standards established by the State for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
`(e) As used in this section, the term `firearm' does not include--
`(1) any machinegun (as defined in section 5845 of the National Firearms Act);
`(2) any firearm silencer (as defined in section 921 of this title); and
`(3) a destructive device (as defined in section 921 of this title).'.
(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 officers.'.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.
Damien45,
YES, you characterized me as a, "spoiled child who expects the world given to them every morning at breakfast." backhanded but not directly.
I'm over 10 years your senior, respect your elders.
I am not saying that LEO (including retired) is better than Civilian. I am not saying Military is better than Civilian. I am saying the Government has chosen to give LEO rights over general public, and we should not try to take that away. We should use it as a step towards equal rights for all.
But the government does not have the ability to give rights or infringe upon the rights we all have..
The fact that LEO was, in my opinion, attacked and generally considered nothing is what I started defending. I lost sight of the point of the thread. I believe in the individuals in Law Enforcement because they do us all a service.
Police do serve us, but so do doctors, laywers and don't forget firefighters and our military and they can't carry, why?
IF this arguement was prior to the bill being passed, while it was still in it's consideration days, I would not support such a seperation. However, it exists now. I will support it because it is, to me, a step towards all having the same rights.
But we already have the same rights, remember the 2A.
I unfortunately feel at times that our Rights have been degraded to privileges given and removed at whim by the Government.
See how it just slips by.I just don't see special rights granted to them as a stepping stone for the rest of us.
Don't get me wrong. I don't want to take away the leo's right to carry, I just don't see special rights granted to them as a stepping stone for the rest of us.. To me it just further strengthens the wall between the elite and the people..
C
I'm sorry I should have been a littlemore specific, that isn't my personal view as much as it is a recognition of the opposition we'd face afterwards."If the police can't be trusted to carry, I sure can't."
Soybomb, you do realize this includes Chicago cops? Please rethink that!
Why don't we change the laws that give us hoops to jump through then instead of trying to get less armed people on the street? Thats the goal of the brady bunch, not us. It can be done, I got my PA permit by sending in $20 and a 1 page application with my picture. A week later I had the license. I didn't have to take a test, be finger printed, shoot a target 3 yards away, or anything of the sort. I've never even been to the state. Leo's have to at least qualify under leosa, plus theres the 15+ years of work before too. If you're going to work to change a law, lets make our existing carry laws better and get rid of the hoops (good luck, alot of people here even support those hoops) not try to take the right to carry from other people.The average Joe has to go jump through hoops and do a song and dance for the sheer joy of some leftist controlling those things that should be left alone.
Let the retired LEO's jump through those same hoops and just like the rest of us
Originally posted by Darko:
First off I'm a cop. I believe that all United State Citizens should be able to CC if the are not a felon or a juvenile. That said any of you using cry baby tactics to try and take away our ability to carry firearms off duty where we could possibly save a life is no better than anyone in the Brady camp. Grow up, I know there is sort of a double standard and like I stated I believe all of you should be able to carry as well but just because you can't don't cry and try to take the ability away from us. I'm not going to be left weaponless and not be able to protect life just because you people have a chip on your shoulder. You should be angry there is a double standard but don't treat us like we are the bad guys and strip us of our weapons. Go join the Brady campaign if that's the case.
Now, what have you done for anyone, other than yourself, lately?
How?This law will make the government even more powerful and take away more power from us.