[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E656-E657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 INTRODUCTION OF THE JAMES GUELFF BODY ARMOR ACT OF 1999 AND THE BODY 
                     ARMOR RESTRICTION ACT OF 1999

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 14, 1999

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce two bills to take 
body armor out of the hands of criminals and give law enforcement 
greater access to body armor.
  My first bill is entitled the James Guelff Body Armor Act of 1999, 
and is named for San Francisco Police Officer James Guelff, who was 
killed in 1994 by a gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and a Kevlar 
helmet. More than one hundred officers of the San Francisco Police 
Department were called to the residential area where the gunman fired 
in excess of 200 rounds of ammunition. Several officers actually ran 
out of ammunition in their attempt to stop the heavily-protected 
gunman.
  This bill criminalizes the use of body armor in conjunction with 
another crime, prohibits the purchase or possession of body armor by 
violent felons, and enables Federal agencies to donate surplus body 
armor to local law enforcement officers. This bill will begin to 
address the imbalance between the numbers of criminals who posses body 
armor and law enforcement officers, who do not posses body armor. 
Today, nearly 25% of all local law enforcement officers are not issued 
body armor. The FBI, DEA, ATF, INS, and U.S. Marshals are just a few of 
the federal agencies that have surplus body armor and would be able to 
donate it to local jurisdictions.
  My second bill, titled the Body Armor Restriction Act of 1999, 
prohibits the mail order sale of body armor. I introduced this bill in 
the 104th and 105th Congresses and hope we can pass it this year to 
keep body armor out of the hands of criminals. I have heard from law 
enforcement officers all across America about the increasing 
occurrences of drug dealers and other suspects possessing body armor. 
Criminal elements are being transformed into unstoppable 
``terminators'' with virtually no fear of police and other crime 
fighters. These heavily-protected criminals are capable of unleashing 
total devastation on civilians and police officers alike, and the 
increasing availability of body armor in the wrong

[[Page E657]]

hands forecasts a future of greater danger to America, greater danger 
to the American people and growing threats to our institutions.
  As a former law enforcement officer, I know all too well the 
challenges confronting those who serve to protect public safety and 
fight crime. We have all seen vivid television footage of ``shoot 
outs'' between criminals and law enforcement. For example, just two 
years ago, a botched bank robbery in California was captured and 
displayed on national television. This gun battle highlighted how body 
armor gives criminals an unfair advantage during gun fights with 
police. Eleven police officers and six civilians were injured in that 
20 minute gunfight with the Los Angeles Police Department. Thousands of 
rounds were fired by the two criminals, both of whom were wearing full 
protective body armor. Witnesses from the crime scene reported that the 
bullets fired from the police officers 9mm guns ``bounced off'' the 
bank robbers, and mushroomed as they fell to the ground.
  I urge my colleagues to support and cosponsor both the James Guelff 
Body Armor Act of 1999 and the Body Armor Restriction Act of 1999. They 
both take another step toward making our streets safer for America and 
for our law enforcement community. Let's quickly pass these bills and 
prevent these kinds of gunfights form happening in the future.

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