Protect Our Prosecutors and Judges Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4445 To establish appropriate rules for prosecutors and Federal judges to carry a concealed firearm. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 5, 2020 Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mrs. LOEFFLER, and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish appropriate rules for prosecutors and Federal judges to carry a concealed firearm. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Our Prosecu- 4 tors and Judges Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO CARRY A CONCEALED FIREARM 6 FOR PROSECUTORS AND FEDERAL JUDGES. 7 (a) CURRENT PROSECUTORS AND FEDERAL 8 JUDGES.—Section 926B of title 18, United States Code, 9 is amended— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4445 IS (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘, 1 qualified prosecutors, and qualified Fed- 2 eral judges’’ after ‘‘qualified law enforce- 3 ment officers’’; 4 (2) in subsection (a)— 5 (A) by inserting ‘‘, a qualified prosecutor, 6 or a qualified Federal judge’’ after ‘‘qualified 7 law enforcement officer’’; and 8 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and in- 9 serting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; 10 (3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e) and 11 inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(c) The identification required by this subsection 13 is— 14 ‘‘(1) with respect to a qualified law enforcement 15 officer, the photographic identification issued by the 16 governmental agency for which the individual is em- 17 ployed that identifies the employee as a police officer 18 or law enforcement officer of the agency; 19 ‘‘(2) with respect to a qualified prosecutor— 20 ‘‘(A) the photographic identification issued 21 by the governmental agency by which the indi- 22 vidual is employed that identifies the employee 23 as a prosecutor of the agency; and 24 ‘‘(B) a certification— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4445 IS ‘‘(i) if agency employing the qualified 1 prosecutor has authorized the qualified 2 prosecutor to carry a firearm, that indi- 3 cates that the qualified prosecutor has 4 been tested or otherwise found by the 5 agency to meet the active duty standards 6 for qualification in firearms training as es- 7 tablished by the agency to carry a firearm 8 of the same type as the concealed firearm; 9 or 10 ‘‘(ii) if the agency employing the 11 qualified prosecutor has not authorized the 12 qualified prosecutor to carry a firearm, 13 issued by the State in which the qualified 14 prosecutor resides or by a certified fire- 15 arms instructor that is qualified to conduct 16 a firearms qualification test for active duty 17 officers within that State that indicates 18 that the qualified prosecutor has been test- 19 ed or otherwise found by the State or cer- 20 tified firearms instructor that is qualified 21 to conduct a firearms qualification test for 22 active duty officers within that State to 23 have met— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4445 IS ‘‘(I) the active duty standards for 1 qualification in firearms training, as 2 established by the State, to carry a 3 firearm of the same type as the con- 4 cealed firearm; or 5 ‘‘(II) if the State has not estab- 6 lished such standards, standards set 7 by any law enforcement agency within 8 that State to carry a firearm of the 9 same type as the concealed firearm; 10 and 11 ‘‘(3) with respect to a qualified Federal judge— 12 ‘‘(A) photographic identification issued by 13 the Federal Government that identifies the indi- 14 vidual as a Federal judge; and 15 ‘‘(B) a certification issued by the State in 16 which the Federal judge resides or by a cer- 17 tified firearms instructor that is qualified to 18 conduct a firearms qualification test for active 19 duty officers within that State that indicates 20 that the individual has been tested or otherwise 21 found by the State or certified firearms instruc- 22 tor that is qualified to conduct a firearms quali- 23 fication test for active duty officers within that 24 State to have met— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4445 IS ‘‘(i) the active duty standards for 1 qualification in firearms training, as estab- 2 lished by the State, to carry a firearm of 3 the same type as the concealed firearm; or 4 ‘‘(ii) if the State has not established 5 such standards, standards set by any law 6 enforcement agency within that State to 7 carry a firearm of the same type as the 8 concealed firearm.’’; 9 (4) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub- 10 section (d); and 11 (5) by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(e) As used in this section— 13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘firearm’— 14 ‘‘(A) except as provided in this paragraph, 15 has the same meaning as in section 921 of this 16 title; 17 ‘‘(B) includes ammunition not expressly 18 prohibited by Federal law or subject to the pro- 19 visions of the National Firearms Act; and 20 ‘‘(C) does not include— 21 ‘‘(i) any machinegun (as defined in 22 section 5845 of the National Firearms 23 Act); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4445 IS ‘‘(ii) any firearm silencer (as defined 1 in section 921 of this title); and 2 ‘‘(iii) any destructive device (as de- 3 fined in section 921 of this title); 4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘qualified Federal judge’ means 5 an individual who— 6 ‘‘(A) is serving in a position as a judge 7 that is established under article I, III, or IV of 8 the Constitution of the United States; 9 ‘‘(B) is not the subject of a pending im- 10 peachment inquiry or trial; 11 ‘‘(C) is not under the influence of alcohol 12 or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or 13 substance; and 14 ‘‘(D) is not prohibited by Federal law from 15 receiving a firearm; 16 ‘‘(3) the term ‘qualified law enforcement officer’ 17 means an employee of a governmental agency who— 18 ‘‘(A) is authorized by law to engage in or 19 supervise the prevention, detection, investiga- 20 tion or prosecution of, or the incarceration of 21 any person for, any violation of law, and has 22 statutory powers of arrest or apprehension 23 under section 807(b) of title 10, United States 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4445 IS Code (article 7(b) of the Uniform Code of Mili- 1 tary Justice); 2 ‘‘(B) is authorized by the agency to carry 3 a firearm; 4 ‘‘(C) is not the subject of any disciplinary 5 action by the agency which could result in sus- 6 pension or loss of police powers; 7 ‘‘(D) meets standards, if any, established 8 by the agency which require the employee to 9 regularly qualify in the use of a firearm; 10 ‘‘(E) is not under the influence of alcohol 11 or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or 12 substance; and 13 ‘‘(F) is not prohibited by Federal law from 14 receiving a firearm; and 15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘qualified prosecutor’ means an 16 individual who— 17 ‘‘(A) is a full-time employee of an agency 18 of the Federal Government or a State or unit 19 of local government who— 20 ‘‘(i) is continually licensed to practice 21 law; and 22 ‘‘(ii) prosecutes criminal or juvenile 23 delinquency cases at the Federal, State, or 24 local level (including supervision, edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4445 IS cation, or training of other persons pros- 1 ecuting such cases); 2 ‘‘(B) is not the subject of any disciplinary 3 action by the agency which could result in sus- 4 pension; 5 ‘‘(C) meets standards, if any, established 6 by the agency which require the employee to 7 regularly qualify in the use of a firearm; 8 ‘‘(D) is not under the influence of alcohol 9 or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or 10 substance; and 11 ‘‘(E) is not prohibited by Federal law from 12 receiving a firearm.’’. 13 (b) RETIRED PROSECUTORS AND FEDERAL 14 JUDGES.—Section 926C of title 18, United States Code, 15 is amended— 16 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘, 17 qualified retired prosecutors, and quali- 18 fied retired Federal judges’’ after ‘‘quali- 19 fied retired law enforcement officers’’; 20 (2) in subsection (a)— 21 (A) by inserting ‘‘, a qualified retired pros- 22 ecutor, or a qualified Federal judge’’ after 23 ‘‘qualified law enforcement officer’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4445 IS (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and in- 1 serting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; and 2 (3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e) and 3 inserting the following: 4 ‘‘(c) The identification required by this subsection 5 is— 6 ‘‘(1) with respect to a qualified retired law en- 7 forcement officer— 8 ‘‘(A) a photographic identification issued 9 by the agency from which the individual sepa- 10 rated from service as a law enforcement officer 11 that identifies the person as having been em- 12 ployed as a police officer or law enforcement of- 13 ficer and indicates that the individual has, not 14 less recently than 1 year before the date the in- 15 dividual is carrying the concealed firearm, been 16 tested or otherwise found by the agency to meet 17 the active duty standards for qualification in 18 firearms training as established by the agency 19 to carry a firearm of the same type as the con- 20 cealed firearm; or 21 ‘‘(B)(i) a photographic identification issued 22 by the agency from which the individual sepa- 23 rated from service as a law enforcement officer 24 that identifies the person as having been em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4445 IS ployed as a police officer or law enforcement of- 1 ficer; and 2 ‘‘(ii) a certification issued by the State in 3 which the individual resides or by a certified 4 firearms instructor that is qualified to conduct 5 a firearms qualification test for active duty offi- 6 cers within that State that indicates that the 7 individual has, not less than 1 year before the 8 date the individual is carrying the concealed 9 firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the 10 State or certified firearms instructor that is 11 qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test 12 for active duty officers within that State to 13 have met— 14 ‘‘(I) the active duty standards for 15 qualification in firearms training, as estab- 16 lished by the State, to carry a firearm of 17 the same type as the concealed firearm; or 18 ‘‘(II) if the State has not established 19 such standards, standards set by any law 20 enforcement agency within that State to 21 carry a firearm of the same type as the 22 concealed firearm; 23 ‘‘(2) with respect to a qualified retired pros- 24 ecutor— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4445 IS ‘‘(A) the photographic identification issued 1 by the governmental agency by which the indi- 2 vidual was employed that identifies the indi- 3 vidual as a former prosecutor of the agency; 4 and 5 ‘‘(B) a certification issued by the State in 6 which the qualified retired prosecutor resides or 7 by a certified firearms instructor that is quali- 8 fied to conduct a firearms qualification test for 9 active duty officers within that State that indi- 10 cates that the qualified retired prosecutor has, 11 not less than 1 year before the date the quali- 12 fied retired prosecutor is carrying the concealed 13 firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the 14 State or certified firearms instructor that is 15 qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test 16 for active duty officers within that State to 17 have met— 18 ‘‘(i) the active duty standards for 19 qualification in firearms training, as estab- 20 lished by the State, to carry a firearm of 21 the same type as the concealed firearm; or 22 ‘‘(ii) if the State has not established 23 such standards, standards set by any law 24 enforcement agency within that State to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4445 IS carry a firearm of the same type as the 1 concealed firearm; and 2 ‘‘(3) with respect to a qualified retired Federal 3 judge— 4 ‘‘(A) photographic identification issued by 5 the Federal Government that identifies the indi- 6 vidual as a former Federal judge; and 7 ‘‘(B) a certification issued by the State in 8 which the Federal judge resides or by a cer- 9 tified firearms instructor that is qualified to 10 conduct a firearms qualification test for active 11 duty officers within that State that indicates 12 that the individual has, not less than 1 year be- 13 fore the date the individual is carrying the con- 14 cealed firearm, been tested or otherwise found 15 by the State or certified firearms instructor 16 that is qualified to conduct a firearms qualifica- 17 tion test for active duty officers within that 18 State to have met— 19 ‘‘(i) the active duty standards for 20 qualification in firearms training, as estab- 21 lished by the State, to carry a firearm of 22 the same type as the concealed firearm; or 23 ‘‘(ii) if the State has not established 24 such standards, standards set by any law 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4445.IS S4445 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4445 IS enforcement agency within that State to 1 carry a firearm of the same type as the 2 concealed firearm. 3 ‘‘(d) As used in this section— 4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘firearm’— 5 ‘‘(A) except as provided in this paragraph, 6 has the same meaning as in section 921 of this 7 title; 8 ‘‘(B) includes ammunition not expressly 9 prohibited by Federal law or subject to the pro- 10 visions of the National Firearms Act; and 11 ‘‘(C) does not include— 12 ‘‘(i) any machinegun (as defined in 1 [Text truncated for display. 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