PLEA ACT
By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mrs. CLINTON):
S. 527. A bill to protect the Nation's law enforcement officers by banning the Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS190 and SS192 cartridges, testing handguns and ammunition for capability to penetrate body armor, and prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, or purchase of such handguns or ammunition by civilians; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001 reminded us that police are heroes who risk their lives to protect us.
That's why it's so outrageous that a gun manufacturer would design and market a ``cop killer'' weapon.
Today on the streets of our cities there is a handgun, called the Five-SeveN, that was specifically designed to pierce bulletproof vests like the ones worn by police.
The web site for this gun actually brags that it can pierce protective armor--that it is a potential cop killer.
One of these weapons was recently confiscated by police officer in Camden, NJ, from a suspect charged with trafficking in large amounts of narcotics.
If there had been a gunfight, the police would have been outgunned.
Who knows how many cop-killer guns are on the streets of my State--or yours?
Police across the nation are alarmed by this weapon. The police chief of Jersey City, Robert Troy, recently pleaded with Congress to ban this gun.
That's why I have introduced the Protect Law Enforcement Armor (PLEA) Act to take ``cop-killer guns'' off the streets. And, I am pleased Senators CORZINE, SCHUMER and CLINTON are co-sponsors of this legislation.
There might be a place for this gun on a battlefield . . . but not near a playground.
Not on our streets.
The cop-killer gun isn't good for hunting. The last time I checked, deer didn't wear bulletproof vests.
It isn't for target shooting.
It isn't even a practical weapon for protection against home intruders.
The cop-killer gun was designed for one thing--piercing the protective armor worn by police officers.
This is a weapon a terrorist or criminal would love: light and easily concealed, yet so powerful that it can penetrate a bullet-proof vest from a distance of more than two football fields.
Armor-piercing bullets are already illegal, but the cop-killer gun has slipped through a loophole in the law.
Simply put, this gun skirts the law by delivering ammunition with unusual velocity, turning otherwise legal bullets into ``cop killers.''
We can't sit by. We must protect our police.
We must ban the cop-killer gun and close the loophole on cop-killer bullets.
Our police officers risk their lives to protect us . . . but we should reduce that risk as much as possible.
Let's get cop-killer guns off our streets.
Let's pass the PLEA Act.
The PLEA Act is simple. It would ban the Five-seven assault pistol, ban the special armor piecing FN 5.7 x 28mm S 192 ammunition, expand the federal definition of armor piercing ammunition, and require the Attorney General to test any ammunition that is capable of penetrating body armor.
The PLEA Act does not apply to the military and law enforcement. In fact, it specifically exempts sale of armor piercing ammunition to the military and law enforcement.
I encourage my colleagues to support it.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 527
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 ``Protect Law Enforcement Armor Act'' or the ``PLEA Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Law enforcement is facing a new threat from handguns and accompanying ammunition, which are designed to penetrate police body armor, being marketed and sold to civilians.
(2) A Five-seveN Pistol and accompanying ammunition, manufactured by FN Herstal of Belgium as the ``5.7 x 28 mm System,'' has recently been recovered by law enforcement on the streets. The Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS192 cartridges are legally available for purchase by civilians under current law.
(3) The Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS192 cartridges are capable of penetrating level IIA armor. The manufacturer advertises that ammunition fired from the Five-seveN will perforate 48 layers of Kevlar up to 200 meters and that the ammunition travels at 2100 feet per second.
(4) The Five-seveN Pistol, and similar handguns designed to use ammunition capable of penetrating body armor, pose a devastating threat to law enforcement.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect the Nation's law enforcement officers by--
(1) testing handguns and ammunition for capability to penetrate body armor; and
(2) prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, or purchase by civilians of the Five-seveN Pistol, ammunition for such pistol, or any other handgun that uses ammunition found to be capable of penetrating body armor.
SEC. 3. ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION.
(a) Expansion of Definition of Armor Piercing Ammunition.--Section 921(a)(17)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) a projectile that--
``(I) may be used in a handgun; and
``(II) the Attorney General determines, pursuant to section 926(d), to be capable of penetrating body armor.''.
(b) Determination of Capability of Projectiles to Penetrate Body Armor.--Section 926 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
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``(d)(1) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Attorney General shall promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against Body Armor Exemplar.
``(2) The standards promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall take into account, among other factors, variations in performance that are related to the type of handgun used, the length of the barrel of the handgun, the amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile, and the design of the projectile.
``(3) As used in paragraph (1), the term `Body Armor Exemplar' means body armor that the Attorney General determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law enforcement officers.''
SEC. 4. ARMOR PIERCING HANDGUNS AND AMMUNITION.
(a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after subsection (y):
``(z) Five-seveN Pistol.--
``(1) IN GENERAL.--It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, import, market, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive--
``(A) the Fabrique Nationale Herstal Five-SeveN Pistol;
``(B) 5.7 x 28mm SS190 and SS192 cartridges; or
``(C) any other handgun that uses armor piercing ammunition.
``(2) EXCEPTIONS.--This subsection shall not apply to--
``(A) any firearm or armor piercing ammunition manufactured for, and sold exclusively to, military, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies of the United States; and
``(B) the manufacture, possession, transfer, receipt, shipment, or delivery of a firearm or armor piercing ammunition by a licensed manufacturer, or any person acting pursuant to a contract with a licensed manufacturer, for the purpose of examining and testing such firearm or ammunition to determine whether paragraph (1) applies to such firearm.''.
(b) Penalties.--Section 924(a)(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``or (q)'' and inserting ``(q), or (z)''.