[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 6, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E10-E11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCING H.R. 218, THE COMMUNITY PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, today I am reintroducing my legislation 
to permit qualified current and former law enforcement officers to 
carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction. This measure is called 
the Community Protection Act, and I have requested that it be assigned 
the same bill number as in previous Congresses--H.R. 218.
  The Community Protection Act provides three benefits to our police 
and to our country.
  First, it effectively provides thousands more trained cops on the 
beat--at zero taxpayer cost.
  Second, it enables current and former law enforcement officers to 
protect themselves and their families from criminals. When a criminal 
completes his or her sentence, that criminal can find where their 
arresting officer lives, where their corrections officer travels, and 
other information about our brave law enforcement personnel and their 
families.
  And, third, it helps keep our communities safer from criminals.
  This measure is very similar to the H.R. 218 reported by the 
Judiciary Committee in the 105th Congress, with one exception: this 
version for the 106th Congress does not address the matter of 
interstate reciprocity for holders of civilian concealed carry 
licenses. This measure affects police only.
  In the interest of providing Members and the public additional 
background information on the Community Protection Act, I have attached 
below some excerpts from the Committee report accompanying H.R. 218 
from the 105th Congress (H. Rept. 105-819), and my testimony before the 
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, the details of which remain 
applicable to the legislation I introduce today:


[[Page E11]]



  The Community Protection Act Selected Excerpts From H. Rept. 105-819


                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

       H.R. 218, the ``Community Protection Act of 1998,'' 
     establishes federal regulations and procedures which may 
     allow active-duty and retired law enforcement officers * * * 
     to travel interstate with a firearm * * *.
       For law enforcement officers, H.R. 218 creates strict 
     guidelines which must be met before any law enforcement 
     officer, active-duty or retired, may carry a firearm into 
     another state * * *.
       H.R. 218 establishes a mechanism by which law enforcement 
     officers * * * may travel interstate with a firearm. 
     Qualified active-duty law enforcement officers will be 
     permitted to travel interstate with a firearm, subject to 
     certain limitations and provided that the officer is carrying 
     his or her official badge and photographic identification.
       Generally, an active-duty officer is a qualified officer 
     under H.R. 218 if the officer is authorized to engage in or 
     supervise any violation of law, is authorized to carry a 
     firearm at all times, is not subject to any disciplinary 
     action by the agency, and meets any agency standards with 
     respect to qualification with a firearm. A qualified active-
     duty officer may not carry a concealed firearm on any 
     privately owned lands, if the owner prohibits or restricts 
     such possession. A qualified officer may also not carry a 
     firearm on any state or local government property, 
     installation, building, base, or park. However, in their 
     official capacity, law enforcement officers are permitted to 
     carry weapons whenever federal, state, or local law allows. 
     This legislation is not intended to interfere with any law 
     enforcement officer's right to carry a concealed firearm, on 
     private or government property, while on duty or in the 
     course of official business.
       A qualified retired officer may carry a concealed firearm, 
     subject to the same restrictions as active-duty officers, 
     with a few additional requirements. A retired officer must 
     have retired in good standing, have a nonforfeitable right to 
     collect benefits under a retirement plan, and have been 
     employed before retirement for an aggregate of five years or 
     more, unless forced to retire due to a service-related 
     injury. In addition, a qualified retired officer must 
     complete a state-approved firearms training or qualification 
     course at his or her own expense * * *.
                                  ____

       As you know, I am the sponsor of one of these measures, the 
     Community Protection Act (HR 218). The Community Protection 
     Act permits qualified current and retired sworn law 
     enforcement officers in good standing to carry a concealed 
     weapon into any jurisdiction. In effect, it means three 
     things: More cops on the street, more protection for the 
     public, at zero taxpayer cost.
       Too often, State laws prevent highly qualified officers 
     from assisting in crime prevention and protecting themselves 
     while not on duty. An officer who has spent his life fighting 
     crime can be barred from helping a colleague or a citizen in 
     distress because he cannot use his service revolver--a 
     handgun that he is required to train with on a regular basis. 
     That same officer, active or retired, isn't allowed to defend 
     himself from the criminals that he put in jail.
       I would like to give you an example of how the Community 
     Protection Act would work, based upon an incident in my own 
     home town of San Diego. Following is a story from the April 
     29, 1997, San Diego Union-Tribune:

                   Officer Finds Work on Her Day Off

                            (By Joe Hughes)

       Hillcrest.--For San Diego police Officer Sandra Oplinger, 
     it was anything but an off day.
       Oplinger ended up capturing a suspected bank robber at 
     gunpoint on her day off yesterday.
       She happened to be in the area of Home Savings Of America 
     on Fifth Avenue near Washington Street about 12:30 p.m. when 
     she saw a man running from the bank, a trail of red smoke 
     coming from an exploded red dye packet that had been inserted 
     into a wad of the loot.
       With her gun drawn, she tracked down and caught the man. 
     Citizens helped by gathering up loose bank cash.
       The incident began when a man entered the bank and asked a 
     teller if he could open an account. The teller gave him a 
     blank form and he left. He returned 10 minutes later, 
     approached the same teller and declared it was a robbery, 
     showing a weapon and a demand note he had written on the same 
     form the teller had given him.
       He then grabbed some money and ran out the door. The dye 
     pack exploded outside, leaving a trail of smoke that 
     attracted Oplinger's attention and led to the suspect's 
     arrest.
       The names of the man and a possible accomplice in a nearby 
     car were not immediately released. A gun was recovered.
                                  ____

       Mr. Chairman, it is a good thing that Officer Oplinger was 
     in San Diego. If she was in many other states or in 
     Washington, D.C., she could have been charged with a crime. 
     That's wrong. We can fix it--with the Community Protection 
     Act.
       My bill seeks to change that by empowering qualified law 
     enforcement officers to be equipped to handle any situation 
     that may arise, wherever they are. . . .
       In the tradition of less government, this bill offers 
     protection to police officers and to all of our communities 
     without creating new programs or bureaucracies, and without 
     spending more taxpayer dollars. It helps protect officers and 
     their families from criminals, and allows officers to respond 
     immediately to crime situations.

  I encourage my colleagues to support this common-sense legislation, 
which is supported by several of America's leading law enforcement 
organizations and by cops on the beat.

                          ____________________