[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 108 (Monday, July 22, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8476-S8477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG:
  S. 1980. A bill to prohibit the public carrying of a handgun, with 
appropriate exceptions for law enforcement officials and others; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.


             THE CONCEALED WEAPONS PROHIBITION ACT OF 1996

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation 
that would prohibit individuals from carrying a handgun, concealed or 
in the open, in public. The bill includes exceptions for certain people 
authorized to carry handguns under State law, such as law enforcement 
personnel and duly authorized security officers. Additionally, States 
could choose to exempt persons whose employment involves the transport 
of substantial amounts of cash or other valuables.
  Also, Mr. President, States could provide exemptions in individual 
cases, based on credible evidence, that a person should be allowed to 
carry a handgun because of compelling circumstances warranting an 
exemption, such as a woman being stalked by someone who is threatening 
her. However, a simple claim of concern about generalized risks would 
not be sufficient. It would have to be a specified, credible threat.
  Mr. President, common sense tells you that there are more than enough 
dangerous weapons on America's streets. Yet, incredibly, some seem to 
think that there should be more. They want to turn our States and 
cities into the wild, wild west, where everyone carries a gun on his or 
her own hip, taking the law into their own hands. This is a foolhardy, 
and dangerous, trend.
  The statistics are clear, Mr. President. This country is already 
drowning in a sea of gun violence. Every 2 minutes, someone somewhere 
in the United States is shot. Every 14 minutes someone in this country 
dies from a gunshot wound. In 1994 alone, over 15 thousand people in 
our country were killed by handguns. Compare that to countries like 
Canada, where 90 people were killed by handguns that year, or Great 
Britain, which had 68 handgun fatalities.
  Mr. President, the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
estimates that by the year 2003, gunfire will have surpassed auto 
accidents as the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United 
States. In fact, this is already the case in seven States.
  It is because we already suffer from an epidemic of gun violence that 
I have introduced this legislation. The fact is, Mr. President, 
concealed weapons make people less, not more, secure, You don't have to 
take it from me. Listen to the real experts: The police officers on the 
street. There is near-unanimous agreement in the law enforcement 
community that concealed weapons laws are bad policy.
  Arming more people is not the way to make the streets safer. It is a 
way to get more people killed. Mr. President, the National Rifle 
Association and its allies may believe that the presence of concealed 
weapons will scare criminals from committing crimes. To me, just the 
opposite is true. More likely, criminals will just get more violent.
  Think about it, Mr. President. If a criminal thinks that you might be 
carrying a concealed weapon, common sense tells you that he is much 
more likely to simply shoot first, and ask questions later.
  Perhaps more importantly, concealed weapons will mean that many 
routine conflicts will escalate into deadly violence. Every day, people 
get into everything from traffic accidents to domestic disputes. Maybe 
these arguments lead to yelling, or even fisticuffs. But if more people 
are carrying guns, those conflicts are much more likely to end in a 
shooting, and death.
  Mr. President, the bottom line is that more guns equals more death. 
This legislation will help in our struggle to reduce the number of guns 
on our streets, and help prevent our society from becoming even more 
violent and dangerous.
  I hope my colleagues will support the bill, and ask unanimous consent 
that a copy of the legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows;

                                S. 1980

       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 1996''.

     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

[[Page S8477]]

     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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