[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 23 (Thursday, March 3, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2040-S2041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Schumer, and 
        Mrs. Clinton):
  S. 527. A bill to protect the Nation's law enforcement officers by 
banning the Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS190 and SS192 
cartridges, testing handguns and ammunition for capability to penetrate 
body armor, and prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, or 
purchase of such handguns or ammunition by civilians; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, the tragic attacks of September 11, 
2001 reminded us that police are heroes who risk their lives to protect 
us.
  That's why it's so outrageous that a gun manufacturer would design 
and market a ``cop killer'' weapon.
  Today on the streets of our cities there is a handgun, called the 
Five-SeveN, that was specifically designed to pierce bulletproof vests 
like the ones worn by police.
  The web site for this gun actually brags that it can pierce 
protective armor--that it is a potential cop killer.
  One of these weapons was recently confiscated by police officer in 
Camden, NJ, from a suspect charged with trafficking in large amounts of 
narcotics.
  If there had been a gunfight, the police would have been outgunned.
  Who knows how many cop-killer guns are on the streets of my State--or 
yours?
  Police across the nation are alarmed by this weapon. The police chief 
of Jersey City, Robert Troy, recently pleaded with Congress to ban this 
gun.
  That's why I have introduced the Protect Law Enforcement Armor (PLEA) 
Act to take ``cop-killer guns'' off the streets. And, I am pleased 
Senators Corzine, Schumer and Clinton are co-sponsors of this 
legislation.
  There might be a place for this gun on a battlefield . . . but not 
near a playground.
  Not on our streets.
  The cop-killer gun isn't good for hunting. The last time I checked, 
deer didn't wear bulletproof vests.
  It isn't for target shooting.
  It isn't even a practical weapon for protection against home 
intruders.
  The cop-killer gun was designed for one thing--piercing the 
protective armor worn by police officers.
  This is a weapon a terrorist or criminal would love: light and easily 
concealed, yet so powerful that it can penetrate a bullet-proof vest 
from a distance of more than two football fields.
  Armor-piercing bullets are already illegal, but the cop-killer gun 
has slipped through a loophole in the law.
  Simply put, this gun skirts the law by delivering ammunition with 
unusual velocity, turning otherwise legal bullets into ``cop killers.''
  We can't sit by. We must protect our police.
  We must ban the cop-killer gun and close the loophole on cop-killer 
bullets.
  Our police officers risk their lives to protect us . . . but we 
should reduce that risk as much as possible.
  Let's get cop-killer guns off our streets.
  Let's pass the PLEA Act.
  The PLEA Act is simple. It would ban the Five-seven assault pistol, 
ban the special armor piecing FN 5.7 x 28mm S 192 ammunition, expand 
the federal definition of armor piercing ammunition, and require the 
Attorney General to test any ammunition that is capable of penetrating 
body armor.
  The PLEA Act does not apply to the military and law enforcement. In 
fact, it specifically exempts sale of armor piercing ammunition to the 
military and law enforcement.
  I encourage my colleagues to support it.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 527

       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 ``Protect Law Enforcement 
     Armor Act'' or the ``PLEA Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Law enforcement is facing a new threat from handguns 
     and accompanying ammunition, which are designed to penetrate 
     police body armor, being marketed and sold to civilians.
       (2) A Five-seveN Pistol and accompanying ammunition, 
     manufactured by FN Herstal of Belgium as the ``5.7 x 28 mm 
     System,'' has recently been recovered by law enforcement on 
     the streets. The Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS192 
     cartridges are legally available for purchase by civilians 
     under current law.
       (3) The Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS192 cartridges 
     are capable of penetrating level IIA armor. The manufacturer 
     advertises that ammunition fired from the Five-seveN will 
     perforate 48 layers of Kevlar up to 200 meters and that the 
     ammunition travels at 2100 feet per second.
       (4) The Five-seveN Pistol, and similar handguns designed to 
     use ammunition capable of penetrating body armor, pose a 
     devastating threat to law enforcement.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect the 
     Nation's law enforcement officers by--
       (1) testing handguns and ammunition for capability to 
     penetrate body armor; and
       (2) prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, or 
     purchase by civilians of the Five-seveN Pistol, ammunition 
     for such pistol, or any other handgun that uses ammunition 
     found to be capable of penetrating body armor.

     SEC. 3. ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION.

       (a) Expansion of Definition of Armor Piercing Ammunition.--
     Section 921(a)(17)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iii) a projectile that--
       ``(I) may be used in a handgun; and
       ``(II) the Attorney General determines, pursuant to section 
     926(d), to be capable of penetrating body armor.''.
       (b) Determination of Capability of Projectiles to Penetrate 
     Body Armor.--Section 926 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

[[Page S2041]]

       ``(d)(1) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
     of this subsection, the Attorney General shall promulgate 
     standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against Body 
     Armor Exemplar.
       ``(2) The standards promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1) 
     shall take into account, among other factors, variations in 
     performance that are related to the type of handgun used, the 
     length of the barrel of the handgun, the amount and kind of 
     powder used to propel the projectile, and the design of the 
     projectile.
       ``(3) As used in paragraph (1), the term `Body Armor 
     Exemplar' means body armor that the Attorney General 
     determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law 
     enforcement officers.''

     SEC. 4. ARMOR PIERCING HANDGUNS AND AMMUNITION.

       (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding after subsection (y):
       ``(z) Five-seveN Pistol.--
       ``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person to 
     manufacture, import, market, sell, ship, deliver, possess, 
     transfer, or receive--
       ``(A) the Fabrique Nationale Herstal Five-SeveN Pistol;
       ``(B) 5.7 x 28mm SS190 and SS192 cartridges; or
       ``(C) any other handgun that uses armor piercing 
     ammunition.
       ``(2) Exceptions.--This subsection shall not apply to--
       ``(A) any firearm or armor piercing ammunition manufactured 
     for, and sold exclusively to, military, law enforcement, or 
     intelligence agencies of the United States; and
       ``(B) the manufacture, possession, transfer, receipt, 
     shipment, or delivery of a firearm or armor piercing 
     ammunition by a licensed manufacturer, or any person acting 
     pursuant to a contract with a licensed manufacturer, for the 
     purpose of examining and testing such firearm or ammunition 
     to determine whether paragraph (1) applies to such 
     firearm.''.
       (b) Penalties.--Section 924(a)(1)(B) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``or (q)'' and inserting 
     ``(q), or (z)''.
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