HR 367 | Freedom to Serve Without Fear Act of 2011

HR 367

112th CONGRESS
1st Session

H. R. 367

To prohibit the knowing possession of a firearm near a venue at which a Member of Congress is performing an official and representational duty or campaigning for public office.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 20, 2011

Ms. RICHARDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To prohibit the knowing possession of a firearm near a venue at which a Member of Congress is performing an official and representational duty or campaigning for public office.

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 `Freedom to Serve Without Fear Act of 2011'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) A central tenet of representative democracy is that citizens enjoy the right to peaceably assemble and petition their government for redress of grievances.

(2) For this right to be exercised meaningfully, elected representatives must be able to make themselves accessible to their constituents.

(3) Fear of gun violence at events where elected representatives are performing their official or representational duties has a chilling effect on our democracy in at least 2 ways:

(A) by discouraging citizens from engaging in the public and personal dialogue with their representatives that is the lifeblood of vibrant democratic politics; and

(B) by leading elected representatives to reduce the frequency and extent of personal contact with their constituents as a reasonable precaution against unreasonable threats to their personal safety.

(4) During the summer of 2009, there were multiple cases of persons carrying firearms outside of venues at which the President of the United States was holding meetings and official events. In one instance, a man carried an AR-15 automatic assault rifle and a sidearm. In another instance, occurring hours before a presidential town hall a week earlier, a man was arrested for breaching a security perimeter at the location of the event, and was found to be in possession of an unlicensed and loaded handgun.

(5) In recent months, there has been a threefold increase in the number of reported threats against Members of the United States House of Representatives and Members of the United States Senate.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON KNOWINGLY POSSESSING A FIREARM NEAR A VENUE AT WHICH A MEMBER OF CONGRESS IS PERFORMING AN OFFICIAL AND REPRESENTATIONAL DUTY OR CAMPAIGNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.

(a) Prohibition- Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(aa)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, to knowingly carry a firearm--

`(A) in, or within 250 feet of an entrance to or exit from, a building or structure where the person knows that a Member of Congress is--

`(i) performing an official and representational duty of the Member;

`(ii) engaging in campaign activity as a candidate for election for Federal office for purposes of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971; or

`(iii) engaging in campaign activity as a candidate for election for State or local office, as determined pursuant to State law; or

`(B) at, or within 500 feet of, any other place where the person knows that a Member of Congress is performing such a duty or engaging in such a campaign activity,

if there is visible, at each place that is at the applicable distance specified in this sentence from the building, structure, or other place, a sign which clearly and conspicuously states that a Member of Congress will be present at the building, structure, or other place, and so states the time interval during which the Member of Congress is scheduled to be so present.

`(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the carrying of a firearm--

`(A) by a law enforcement officer (whether on- or off-duty) who is authorized to carry a firearm in the line of duty; or

`(B) pursuant to the express written permission of--

`(i) any Member of Congress present at the location involved, which permission has been filed with the chief of police of the locality involved; or

`(ii) the chief of police of the locality involved;

`(C) on real property owned or rented by the carrier of the firearm;

`(D) on the premises of a business in which the carrier of the firearm is employed and authorized by the employer to carry the firearm; or

`(E) which is in a locked container or otherwise not readily accessible for use.

`(3) If Federal investigative or prosecutive jurisdiction is asserted for a violation of this subsection, such assertion shall suspend the exercise of jurisdiction by a State or local authority, under any applicable State or local law, until Federal action is terminated.

`(4) Violations of this subsection shall be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistance may be requested from any Federal, State, or local agency, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, any statute, rule, or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding.'.

(b) Penalties- Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(8) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(aa) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.'.

SEC. 4. ENCOURAGING STATES TO ADOPT FIREARMS PROHIBITIONS SIMILAR TO FEDERAL LAW TO PROTECT STATE AND LOCAL ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS.

(a) In General- For each fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in subsection (b)(1) in which a State receives funds for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), the State shall have in effect throughout the State laws and policies that prohibit any person to knowingly possess a firearm near a venue at which an elected or appointed State or local official is performing an official and representational duty or campaigning for public office if such possession would constitute an offense under subsection (aa) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, if such official were a Member of Congress.

(b) Compliance and Ineligibility-

(1) COMPLIANCE DATE- Each State shall have not more than 1 year from the date of enactment of this Act to comply with subsection (a), except that--

(A) the Attorney General may grant an additional 1 year to a State that is making good faith efforts to comply with such subsection; and

(B) the Attorney General shall waive the requirements of subsection (a) if compliance with such subsection by a State would be unconstitutional under the constitution of such State.

(2) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS- For any fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State that fails to comply with subsection (a) shall not receive 10 percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to the State for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.).

(c) Reallocation- Amounts not allocated under such Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to a State for failure to fully comply with subsection (a) shall be reallocated under that program to States that have not failed to comply with such subsection.

END