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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during National Police Week, the House Judiciary Committee reported the Protecting Officers of the Law in Civilian Establishments (POLICE) Act (H.R. 2561) out of committee with a unanimous, bipartisan vote. Representative Trey Hollingsworth (IN-09) introduced H.R. 2561 to protect law enforcement officers in the line of duty. “Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect us,” said Representative Trey Hollingsworth. “The POLICE Act removes a double standard so police officers can better protect themselves and the communities they serve. “After police officers who were also veterans were denied access to the local VA clinic, I was asked to disarm to conduct business in the local social security office,” said Floyd County Sheriff Frank Loop. “In a time of increased unprovoked attacks on our law enforcement personnel, I was amazed that uniform police officers across the country are not allowed to carry their agency-issued firearm on federal property. An unarmed police officer is limited in the action they can take to protect themselves or the public in an emergency. The POLICE Act fixes the loophole and brings common sense to the topic of public safety”. “Attacks on law enforcement officers have escalated in recent years and we must continually revisit our laws to ensure they are effective in protecting the lives of those who wear the badge and serve our communities daily,” said House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). “Unfortunately, federal law requires the very law enforcement officers entrusted to protect and respond during a crisis to disarm when entering a federal building if they are not responding to an emergency situation. This places officers in significant danger considering that uniformed law enforcement officers already are highly visible targets to those wishing to cause harm to men and women in uniform. The POLICE Act remedies this problem by allowing uniformed law enforcement officers to carry their firearm in federal facilities at all times, not just in emergency situations. I thank Congressman Hollingsworth for introducing this bill and am pleased the Committee has passed it today.” Recent executive interpretation of federal law currently prohibits non-federal law enforcement officers from carrying their agency-issued firearms onto civilian federal property unless the officers are responding to incidents in progress or are specifically called to the location. In 2017, Floyd County Sheriff Frank Loop contacted Representative Hollingsworth to share his frustration with how this federal law makes his officers vulnerable and unable to act and respond when necessary. Together, Sheriff Loop and Representative Hollingsworth wrote the POLICE Act to allow uniformed law enforcement officers to remain armed on certain civilian public access federal facilities. The POLICE Act ensures our publicly recognizable law enforcement officers are always ready to respond when necessary. Read the full text of the legislation, here. Support: The following organizations wrote in support of Representative Hollingsworth’s legislation: National Fraternal Order of Police: “I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our support for your bill, H.R. 2561, the “Protecting Officers of the Law In Civilian Establishments (POLICE) Act.” National Association of Police Organizations: “On behalf of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), I am writing to you to express our support of H.R. 2561, the Protecting Officers of the Law in Civilian Establishments (POLICE) Act of 2017, which would permit uniformed law enforcement officers to carry agency-issued firearms in certain Federal facilities.
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