[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 707 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 707

    To prohibit the public carrying of a handgun, with appropriate 
          exceptions for law enforcement officials and others.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 1997

Mr. Lautenberg introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the public carrying of a handgun, with appropriate 
          exceptions for law enforcement officials and others.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Concealed Weapons Prohibition Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) crimes committed with handguns threaten the peace and 
        domestic tranquility of the United States and reduce the 
        security and general welfare of the Nation and its people;
            (2) crimes committed with handguns impose a substantial 
        burden on interstate commerce and lead to a reduction in 
        productivity and profitability for businesses around the Nation 
        whose workers, suppliers, and customers are adversely affected 
        by gun violence;
            (3) the public carrying of handguns increases the level of 
        gun violence by enabling the rapid escalation of otherwise 
        minor conflicts into deadly shootings;
            (4) the public carrying of handguns increases the 
        likelihood that incompetent or careless handgun users will 
        accidently injure or kill innocent bystanders;
            (5) the public carrying of handguns poses a danger to 
        citizens of the United States who travel across State lines for 
        business or other purposes; and
            (6) all Americans have a right to be protected from the 
        dangers posed by the carrying of concealed handguns, regardless 
        of their State of residence.

SEC. 3. UNLAWFUL ACT.

    Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(y)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful 
for a person to carry a handgun on his or her person in public.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the following:
            ``(A) A person authorized to carry a handgun pursuant to 
        State law who is--
                    ``(i) a law enforcement official;
                    ``(ii) a retired law enforcement official;
                    ``(iii) a duly authorized private security officer;
                    ``(iv) a person whose employment involves the 
                transport of substantial amounts of cash or other 
                valuable items; or
                    ``(v) any other person that the Attorney General 
                determines should be allowed to carry a handgun because 
                of compelling circumstances warranting an exception, 
                pursuant to regulations that the Attorney General may 
                promulgate.
            ``(B) A person authorized to carry a handgun pursuant to a 
        State law that grants a person an exemption to carry a handgun 
        based on an individualized determination and a review of 
        credible evidence that the person should be allowed to carry a 
        handgun because of compelling circumstances warranting an 
        exemption. A claim of concern about generalized or unspecified 
        risks shall not be sufficient to justify an exemption.
            ``(C) A person authorized to carry a handgun on his or her 
        person under Federal law.''.
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