[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S535-S537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Sessions):
  S. 166. A bill to limit access to body armor by violent felons and to 
facilitate the donation of Federal surplus body armor to State and 
local law enforcement agencies; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased today, along with Senator 
Sessions of Alabama, to reintroduce the James Guelff Body Armor Act for 
the fourth consecutive Congress.
  This bill closes a glaring gap in our criminal law that permits 
individuals with even the grimmest history of criminal violence to use 
body armor. It is unquestionable that criminals with violent intentions 
are more dangerous when they are wearing body armor, and are more 
difficult for police to disarm and disable.
  This bill is named in memory of San Francisco Police Officer James 
Guelff. On November 13, 1994, Officer Guelff was shot to death in a 
fire-fight by a

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heavily armed gunman wearing a bullet-proof vest and kevlar helmet on a 
major street corner in San Francisco. Because of his protective gear, 
the assailant was subsequently able to hold off over a hundred police 
officers.
  California is not the only state where heavily armored criminals have 
assaulted police officers and the community.
  In 1999, Officer James Snedigar of the Chandler, Arizona Police 
department was shot and killed by a gunman firing an AK-47 who was also 
protected by a kevlar vest.
  In March of 2000, Deputy Ricky Kinchen of Atlanta, Georgia, was 
killed in a shootout with a gunman who wore a bulletproof vest.
  On July 15, 2000, Sergeant Todd Stamper of the Crandon, Wisconsin 
police department, was killed in a gun fight by a heavily armed man 
wearing a kevlar helmet and body armor.
  Lee Guelff, James Guelff's brother, wrote to me about the need to 
revise the laws relating to body armor. His words eloquently explain 
the need for the legislation:

       It's bad enough when officers have to face gunmen in 
     possession of superior firepower. * * * But to have to 
     confront suspects shielded by equal or better defensive 
     protection as well goes beyond the bounds of acceptable risk 
     for officers and citizens alike. No officer should have to 
     face the same set of deadly circumstances again.

  Our laws need to recognize that body armor in the possession of a 
criminal is an offensive weapon. Police officers serving on the streets 
should have ready access to body armor, and hardened-criminals need to 
be deterred from using it.
  The James Guelff Body Armor Act of 2001 has three key provisions. 
First, it directs the United States Sentencing Commission to develop a 
penalty enhancement for criminals who commit violent crimes while 
wearing body armor. Second, it prohibits violent felons from 
purchasing, using, or possessing body armor. Third, this bill enables 
Federal law enforcement agencies to directly donate surplus body armor 
to local police. I will address each of these three provisions.
  I. Enhanced criminal penalties for wearing body armor during violent 
crimes.--Criminals who wear body armor while engaged in violent crimes 
deserve enhanced penalties because they pose an enhanced threat to 
police and civilians alike. Assailants shielded by body armor can shoot 
at the police and civilians with less fear than individuals not so well 
protected.
  The James Guelff Body Armor Act directs the United States Sentencing 
Commission to develop an appropriate sentence enhancement for wearing 
body armor during a violent crime. The bill also expresses the Sense of 
the Senate that any enhancement should be at least two levels.
  II. Prohibiting violent felons from wearing body armor.--This section 
makes it a crime (up to three years in jail) for individuals with a 
violent criminal record to wear, possess, or own body armor. It is 
unconscionable that criminals can obtain and wear body armor without 
restriction when so many of our police lack comparable protection.
  To account for those rare circumstances when a felon may need body 
armor as part of a lawful occupation, the section provides an 
affirmative defense against prosecution if the felon wore armor after 
obtaining permission from employer, and possession of armor was 
necessary for safe performance of lawful business activity.
  III. Direct donation of body armor.--The James Guelff Body Armor Act 
of 2001 also empowers Federal agencies to expedite the donation of body 
armor to local police departments.
  Far too many local police officers do not have access to bullet-proof 
vests. The United States Department of Justice estimates that 25% of 
State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers, approximately 
150,000 officers, are not issued body armor.
  Supplying local police officers with more body armor will save lives. 
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, greater than 30% of 
the approximately 1,300 officers killed by guns in the line of duty 
since 1980 could have been saved by body armor, and the risk of dying 
from gunfire is 14 times higher for an officer without a bulletproof 
vest. Body armor saves an estimated 150 police officers' lives each 
year.
  The James Guelff Body Armor Act is backed by law enforcement officers 
all across America. Organizations representing over 500,000 police 
officers have endorsed the legislation. These organizations include the 
Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriff's Association, the 
National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National 
Troopers Coalition, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, 
the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Police Executive 
Research Forum, the National Association of Police Organizations, and 
the International Association of Police Chiefs.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this 
legislation.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from 
California, Senator Feinstein, in sponsoring the James Guelff Body 
Armor Act of 2001.
  This legislation is intended to deter criminals from wearing body 
armor and to empower Federal law enforcement agencies to donate surplus 
body armor to State and local police departments.
  This bipartisan legislation is named in honor of James Guelff, a 
California police officer who was murdered in the line of duty by an 
assailant wearing body armor and a bulletproof helmet.
  As a Federal prosecutor for fifteen years, I developed a deep 
appreciation for the threats that our law enforcement officers face day 
to day as they wage the war on crime. In my home State of Alabama, 
Etowah County Officer Chris McCurley was murdered and Officer Gary 
Entrekin was critically injured in 1997 during a shootout with two 
criminals shielded by body armor. This bill will make criminals like 
these pay an extra price for using body armor while harming innocent, 
law-abiding people.
  The James Guelff Body Armor Act addresses the abuse of body armor in 
three ways:
  First, the bill directs the United States Sentencing Commission to 
amend the Sentencing Guidelines to include an enhancement for the use 
of body armor during a violent crime or a drug crime. Thus, criminals 
who use body armor while attacking law enforcement officers or 
civilians will spend longer terms in prison.
  Second, the bill prohibits a person who has been convicted of a 
violent felony from purchasing, owning, or possessing body armor. Once 
a criminal has shown a propensity to violent action, he should not be 
able to use body armor to commit another crime and perhaps evade 
capture by the police.
  Third, the bill enables Federal law enforcement agencies to donate 
surplus body armor, currently totaling approximately 10,000 vests, 
directly to State and local law enforcement agencies. By protecting our 
police officers, sheriffs' deputies, and other State and local law 
enforcement officers with body armor, we can help ensure that more cops 
come home to their families at the end of their day.
  It is indisputable that getting our law enforcement officers more 
body armor will save lives. According to the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, more than 30 percent of the officers killed by firearms 
in the line of duty since 1980 could have survived had they been 
wearing body armor.
  In a survey of American voters in 1999 by the National Association of 
Police Organizations, 83 percent supported passing laws to keep felons 
from wearing body armor during the commission of crimes. This is why a 
broad bipartisan group of law enforcement organizations support this 
bill including: the Fraternal Order of Police, the National 
Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the International 
Association of Chiefs of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers 
Association, the National Association of Police Organizations, the 
International Brotherhood of Police Officers, and the National Sheriffs 
Association.
  Last year, a very similar bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 
unanimously. It passed the entire Senate unanimously. It is time for 
Congress to act and to protect our law enforcement officers.
  I call on my colleagues in the Senate, including Senator Feinstein, 
to join me, and the law enforcement community in supporting this 
important legislation that will save lives and provide

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law enforcement officers with more protection in their fight against 
the most violent criminals.
                                 ______