H.R. 218 Re-Emerges in New Congress
Winter 1999

Dedicated to getting LEAA's national flagship Right-To-Carry legislation passed this year, LEAA along with Representative Randy "Duke Cunningham" is starting early and starting strong. Reintroducing the "Community Protection Act" on the first day of the 106th Congressional session, we were delighted to once again have the legislation numbered "218" (since this is how many supporters have come to know the bill), and to initially have 35 co-sponsors (now that number has swelled to more than 60).

Representative Cunningham (R-Calif.) has been a faithful friend to LEAA, sponsoring H.R. 218 during four congressional sessions now. H.R. 218 will allow active-duty and retired law enforcement officers in good standing to carry a concealed firearm anywhere in the country, exempt from state concealed-carry prohibitions. This measure would provide the country with the off-duty services of more than 600,000 sworn law enforcement professionals (plus a plethora of retirees) at zero taxpayer cost - which sure beats Bill Clinton's unkept promise of 100,000 additional police officers with a $8.8 billion price tag.

According to LEAA Executive Director Jim Fotis, "H.R. 218 is a common-sense proposal that recognizes the public safety benefits gained by giving trained law enforcement officers the ability to carry the most important tool of their trade off-duty and when retired."

A highly decorated 13-year veteran of the Lynbrook (N.Y.) Police Department who had to leave the profession because of injuries sustained on the job, Fotis should know. "The Community Protection Act would make it easier for an officer to respond to life-threatening situations arising inside and outside their home jurisdictions - without facing prosecution for carrying a concealed firearm. Passage of the Community Protection Act will be a valuable asset in the battle to save lives across the nation," Fotis says.

Perfect Examples
During a July 1997 statement before the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Cunningham gave an example of how the Community Protection Act would work: A San Diego police officer captured a suspected bank robber at gunpoint on her day off. When she witnessed a man running from a bank with a trail of red smoke from an exploded red-dye packet that had been placed in the money bag, the policewomen drew her gun, tracked down the suspect, and apprehended him. Representative Cunningham pointed out that it was a good thing this incident occurred in California, because in many other jurisdictions, the officer would have been charged with a crime. "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," the congressman stated.

LEAA's executive director illustrates the need for such a bill. "Our police officers are the most vital resource the nation has in the battle against crime. We must utilize their expertise while allowing officers - who when off-duty are citizens - the right to protect themselves and their families from hardened, often vindictive, criminals they have previously arrested," Fotis said.

Leopold Altman III, an LEAA member from New York City, recently sent us information on documented cases where officers were harassed by felons after they helped capture and incarcerate them. Once H.R. 218 becomes law, these officers will be able to defend themselves better. For instance, the Virginia State Police reports that a trooper changed jobs within the department in 1997 and moved his family to another part of the state after years of threats that apparently stemmed from arrests he made in a drug case; and two other troopers have had their homes torched by crime suspects. Additionally, one county in Maryland recorded 23 reports of serious threats made to police officers in one year.

Lt. Frank Freeland is an LEAA member who retired after serving as a correctional officer in California. He relayed to us a situation in Stockton, California, where a retired sheriff's deputy (with 18 years on the job pursued an armed robber, and in the end shot and killed him in September 1998.

The 32-year-old robber pointed a gun at a car-wash cashier and demanded money. The clerk complied, but the deputy who witnessed the robbery followed the felon outside. When he approached him, the robber turned his gun on the retired officer who defended himself with deadly force. The deputy, who has a concealed carry permit, has thus far been vindicated as the incident has been ruled as a justifiable homicide.

Lt. Freeland, an avid supporter of LEAA, recognizes the great need for legislation like H.R. 218. Having worked the streets as a cop before going into corrections, Lt. Freeland says he has "carried all during my career and several times it has stopped a crime or aided an on-duty officer," he reports. "I can carry here in California, but elsewhere I keep my weapon in a gun case with my ID. I would feel safer and more able to protect my family if I could carry in other states without fear of being charged with a crime. I always slow down and check officers when I see them with a stopped vehicle or with a pedestrian. It would be a shame if I saw an officer in need of assistance and because I couldn't get to my gun, he was injured or killed."

We need more citizens like Lt. Freeland, and we need to allow such well-trained and conscientious personnel to protect themselves and others by expanding national Right-To-Carry laws.

The Strategy
With such a strong and early start in the 106th Congress, passage of H.R. 218 looks favorable. But we have to energize LEAA members and other law enforcement professionals to actively place their support behind the legislation.

First, we must once again collect letters of support from police associations, everything from local PBA chapters and FOP lodges to the varied groups that represent the different disciplines of police work.

Second, we have to call our congressmen, and get our friends and colleagues to call their congressmen. Give them examples of how relevant and necessary this legislation is. During the last congressional session, more than 120 representatives in the House cosponsored H.R. 218, but only about half that numbered have signed on so far this year. Obviously, these leaders need to hear from us (see list of current sponsors on next page).

Further, we need to gather real stories to illustrate the need for H.R. 218. Therefore, we encourage our LEAA members to send us testimonials or newspaper articles to show the usefulness of a national Right-To-Carry bill for cops.

Lastly, talk about H.R. 218. Tell your friends that such a bill exists and if they need more information, refer them to LEAA and encourage them to also be members so they can monitor the bill's progress in our publications and mailings.

During the 105th Congress, LEAA accomplished more toward getting H.R. 218 to become law since we first crafted the measure some seven years ago. Now we even have the support of some large police organizations, who concur that the Community Protection Act is one of the real ways to make America safer. The American Association of State Troopers as well as the national FOP realized the necessity of H.R. 218. To his credit, Gilbert Gallegos, president of the national Fraternal Order of Police, chastised HCI and its law enforcement allies for turning their backs on H.R. 218 and, subsequently, on the right of law enforcement officers to protect their lives as well as the lives of loved ones and innocent bystanders nationwide.

As always we're anticipating stiff resistance from Handgun Control Inc. and those few politicians who repeatedly attack gun rights and law enforcement. But now we can put HCI's claim of being pro-police to a true litmus test and demonstrate once and for all that Handgun Control Inc is no friend of law enforcement.

Therefore we'll see if HCI sticks to the statements they made in a September 1998 press release stating that "H.R. 218, in its original form, was a relatively non-controversial measure." So certainly they'll support it now, won't they?.

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