[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1638 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1638

To permit Amtrak passengers to safely transport firearms and ammunition 
                       in their checked baggage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 6, 2009

  Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Coburn, Mr. DeMint, Mr. 
 Ensign, and Mr. Thune) introduced the following bill; which was read 
     twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To permit Amtrak passengers to safely transport firearms and ammunition 
                       in their checked baggage.

    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 ``Amtrak Secure Transportation of 
Firearms Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States provides that ``the right of the people to keep and bear 
        Arms, shall not be infringed''.
            (2) The Supreme Court of the United States ruled, in 
        District of Columbia v. Heller, that ``the Second Amendment 
        protects an individual right to possess a firearm . . . and to 
        use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes''.
            (3) At one time, Amtrak accepted firearms in secure checked 
        baggage.
            (4) While airline passengers may transport firearms and 
        ammunition in secure checked baggage when declared during the 
        check-in process, Amtrak passengers are not permitted to 
        transport firearms and ammunition in secure checked baggage.
            (5) Law-abiding gun owners should not be penalized for 
        seeking alternative means of travel, particularly on a 
        federally subsidized rail line.
            (6) Congress needs to ensure that Amtrak does not override 
        the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

SEC. 3. SECURE TRANSPORTATION OF FIREARMS ON PASSENGER TRAINS.

    Section 24305 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(g) Secure Transportation of Firearms.--If an Amtrak station 
accepts checked baggage for a specific Amtrak route, an Amtrak 
passenger holding a ticket for such route shall be allowed to place an 
unloaded firearm or starter pistol in a checked bag on such route if--
            ``(1) before checking the bag or boarding the train, the 
        passenger declares to Amtrak, either orally or in writing, that 
        the firearm is in his or her bag and is unloaded;
            ``(2) the firearm is carried in a hard-sided container;
            ``(3) such container is locked; and
            ``(4) only the passenger has the key or combination for 
        such container.
    ``(h) Small Arms Ammunition.--An Amtrak passenger shall be allowed 
to place small arms ammunition for personal use in a checked bag on an 
Amtrak route if the ammunition is securely packed--
            ``(1) in fiber, wood, or metal boxes; or
            ``(2) in other packaging specifically designed to carry 
        small amounts of ammunition.
    ``(i) Applicability.--Subsections (g) and (h) shall not apply in 
any fiscal year in which Amtrak does not receive Federal financial 
assistance.''.
                                 <all>