ThatIsAFact
Member
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2004
- Messages
- 44
This is excerpted from "City: Retired cops can't carry concealed guns," in the Chicago Sun-Times for December 12, 2005:
Retired Chicago Police officers will be getting letters in the mail soon saying the city won't certify them to carry guns -- a move that angers the head of the local Fraternal Order of Police. Congress passed the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 to allow retired and off-duty officers across the country to carry concealed weapons. But the city is worried about the liability of allowing retired cops to carry guns when they haven't gone through refresher training or undergone mental and physical fitness evaluations. The city also is concerned about the lack of a national database of retired officers authorized to carry guns. . . . The letter to retired Chicago cops says "until these areas of concern are addressed by federal legislation, the Department has declined to adopt new procedures for qualifying retired officers to carry a firearm." . . . Under the city's interpretation of the federal law, the city can't bar out-of-town retired officers from carrying guns if they have been certified by agencies outside Chicago. But the city believes the federal government can't force the city to certify retired officers here if it chooses not to. [end of excerpt from article]
You can read the complete story here:
http://www.suntimes.com/cgi-bin/pri...ntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-conceal12.html
My comments: It is true that the LEOSA does not require any state or local law enforcement agency to issue annual firearms-qualification certificates to retired officers, and without such a certificate, the retired LEOSA cannot exercise the privilege conferred by the law, even if he meets all the other qualifications. Fortunately, however, the LEOSA does provide that such a certificate can be issued by a state, as well as by the local agency from which a given officer retired. And, it appears that the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board is already set up to issue such certifcates to qualified retirees (see the material posted by that agency here). A retired Chicago LEO, carrying this state-issued credential, can lawfully carry in the city of Chicago under the LEOSA, even if the city masters do not like it. [UPDATE: As I explain below, I was wrong about this --an Illinois retired LEO, richp, has explained on another website that Chicago is refusing to provide documentation that the Chicago ex-LEOs retired in good standing, and therefore, the state agency will not allow them to shoot to qualify.] Note that I am not a lawyer and nothing here should be construed as legal advice.
By my interpretation of the LEOSA, even in a state in which there are no statewide firearms qualifications standards for active duty law enforcement officers, agencies may issue the required certificates to retired officers. In that case, the retired officer has met the same statewide standard as the active-duty officer, as the LEOSA requires (which is to say, no standard). That is exactly the way the LEOSA has been interpreted by the Attorney General of Florida (a state without a statewide training standard) in his solid legal opinion posted here.
Retired Chicago Police officers will be getting letters in the mail soon saying the city won't certify them to carry guns -- a move that angers the head of the local Fraternal Order of Police. Congress passed the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 to allow retired and off-duty officers across the country to carry concealed weapons. But the city is worried about the liability of allowing retired cops to carry guns when they haven't gone through refresher training or undergone mental and physical fitness evaluations. The city also is concerned about the lack of a national database of retired officers authorized to carry guns. . . . The letter to retired Chicago cops says "until these areas of concern are addressed by federal legislation, the Department has declined to adopt new procedures for qualifying retired officers to carry a firearm." . . . Under the city's interpretation of the federal law, the city can't bar out-of-town retired officers from carrying guns if they have been certified by agencies outside Chicago. But the city believes the federal government can't force the city to certify retired officers here if it chooses not to. [end of excerpt from article]
You can read the complete story here:
http://www.suntimes.com/cgi-bin/pri...ntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-conceal12.html
My comments: It is true that the LEOSA does not require any state or local law enforcement agency to issue annual firearms-qualification certificates to retired officers, and without such a certificate, the retired LEOSA cannot exercise the privilege conferred by the law, even if he meets all the other qualifications. Fortunately, however, the LEOSA does provide that such a certificate can be issued by a state, as well as by the local agency from which a given officer retired. And, it appears that the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board is already set up to issue such certifcates to qualified retirees (see the material posted by that agency here). A retired Chicago LEO, carrying this state-issued credential, can lawfully carry in the city of Chicago under the LEOSA, even if the city masters do not like it. [UPDATE: As I explain below, I was wrong about this --an Illinois retired LEO, richp, has explained on another website that Chicago is refusing to provide documentation that the Chicago ex-LEOs retired in good standing, and therefore, the state agency will not allow them to shoot to qualify.] Note that I am not a lawyer and nothing here should be construed as legal advice.
By my interpretation of the LEOSA, even in a state in which there are no statewide firearms qualifications standards for active duty law enforcement officers, agencies may issue the required certificates to retired officers. In that case, the retired officer has met the same statewide standard as the active-duty officer, as the LEOSA requires (which is to say, no standard). That is exactly the way the LEOSA has been interpreted by the Attorney General of Florida (a state without a statewide training standard) in his solid legal opinion posted here.
Last edited: