The Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act, otherwise commonly known as HR218 due to the original legislative bill number is a Federal Law that grants qualified individuals the legal abulity to carry nationwide in all fifty states and territories. It seems simple enough and many think it is a national CCW permit. But the honest truth is it isn't.

LEOSA does have its caveats. It isn't universal in its rules.

1. You aren't exempt from the Federal Gun Free School Zone Act nor are you exempt from State Prohibition due to Location or Private Property Laws. If Minnesota for example allows the "no concealed carry signs" to carry the weight of law. Then you're barred from carrying at the Mall of America if they have such a sign. Since Florida bars carry in polling places. You can't carry there when you go vote. Same goes with bans on carrying in places like bars, government buildings, post offices, etc.

State issued CCW permits (or Constitutional Carry States) usually grant greater privileges for carrying than LEOSA does.

2. The law says who qualifies. But the reality it is much murkier. Each State defines who is and isn't law enforcement. LEOSA in a nut shell says you qualify if you have arrest powers and can carry a gun on and off duty. New Mexico for instance doesn't allow Reserve Police Officers to carry off duty or have arrest powers off duty. So they don't qualify and that was an issue with Lake Arthur, NM and the pay to play badge scheme.

In Florida, Correctional Officers recently became qualified by statute since they weren't considered law enforcement. But that has recently changed when Gov. DeSantis signed a bill into law. In Washington DC, Correctional Officers weren't qualified until they sued the government and won. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies under the Executive Branch also weren't originally qualified nor were Military Police. But that changed with legislation.

In the end, each State and Territory governs who is and isn't qualified.

3. It isn't automatic. Right now, you must be either actively sworn or if separated from an agency you have to either have an aggregate of 10 years or more and have separated from the agency in "good standing". If under 10 years then you have to have been medically retired and it had to have been after your training period.

There is no definition on what a separation with "good standing" is.

This segways into the next part.

4. Issuance of LEOSA Credentials isn't automatic and not required by anyone. The Federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Camille Burban v. The City of Neptune Beach that there was no private cause of action under LEOSA that would entitle a former officer to relief after his/her application for an identification card was denied.

Basically, it is up to each agency to issue LEOSA Credentials to who they seem fit and they csn develop their own internal policy. If an agency doesn't want to issue anyone LEOSA Credentials they can do that. If they want to stipulate that an officer must do 30 years with the department to qualify for LEOSA Credentials they can do that.

5. States can set additional requirements. New Jersey makes their separated officers get a RPO permit and limit it to people under the age of 75. Illinois requires that separated officers there get a FOID card.

8. Qualified Separated Officers have to qualify annually. Each state is allowed to set up those requirements. No agency is required to put separated officers through a qualification course.

9. LEOSA is an administrative defense. It doesn't prevent any jurisdiction from arresting someone (as NYS and NYC has done in the past).

10. LEOSA is not permanent. You can be actively sworn and for reasons outside of your control. You can be placed on administrative leave due to a bogus complaint filed against you. While on administrative leave, you might be stripped of your authorization to carry off duty under the badge.

So with all that out there. If you qualify and actually have LEOSA Credentials and happen to live in a place where you can get a CCW Permit.



Do it and get one. Don't just rely on LEOSA.

That's greater privileges. Also you can open carry under a TX Permit. You can't open carry under LEOSA.

Retired cops carrying solely on LEOSA sure can't. If I didn't have my FL CCW and went to TX. I wouldn't be able to open carry.

It depends on where you live. In FL, my CCW lets me skip the mandatory waiting period for a gun purchase from a FFL and it lets me carry at the State Capitol. LEOSA alone doesn't do that. In Mississippi, they have an "enhanced permit" that lets you carry where LEOSA and a regular permit doesn't. Tennessee has a similar system too. You yourself stated that in Texas, a permit lets you skip the background. Can't do that with LEOSA alone.

DLs and CDLs are an interstate compact agreement. The Federal Government has nothing to do with it.

You have to qualify in the State you reside in. If I lived in VA I could qual there. I can't since I live in FL.

Depends on however Texas does things. In FL, property owners can bar even actively sworn and employed cops from carrying on their property when the cops are off duty. Disney and Universal sure as hell does.

The US is not Texas, hence the OP is a generalization of things. Different states do things differently.

Don't forget passing MEPS, Basic, or A School and doing a stint of ten years or more as Military Police.

It isn't a sweeping statement. CCW permits usually do provide more in a number of places than LEOSA. Again, we have fifty states, five inhabited territories, and a federal district. They all do their own things and in a number of them, CCWs grant more privileges than LEOSA does. In some, they don't. I'm not going to list the fine details of every fucking place. Hence why my rule of thumb is "GET BOTH".