DeSaulnier Announces Legislation To Prevent Theft Of Federal Law Enforcement Weapons

Walnut Creek – Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) announced legislation to prevent incidents in which federal law enforcement officers’ service weapons are lost or stolen. Earlier this week, a loaded Glock 27 was stolen out of an FBI agent’s car in San Francisco. This is just one example of a concerning trend involving a stolen weapon from federal law enforcement in the San Francisco area.

“Locking a firearm when it is not in use should be a no-brainer. Yet, there are almost 80 federal law enforcement agencies and none are required to have standards for officers to safely store and lock their guns when they are not in use,” explained Congressman DeSaulnier.

DeSaulnier’s bill, the Federal Law Enforcement and Public Protection Act, would require standards for federal law enforcement officers to lock their guns when not in use and to institute a reporting mechanism to better understand the frequency and severity of this problem. The bill also provides officers with information about the dangers of keeping an unlocked weapon in the home.

“We need to take action before another life is lost. Federal law enforcement agencies should be accountable for officers’ weapons both on and off the job. This bill will help ensure law enforcement has standards and information on the best ways to safely and securely store firearms,” said DeSaulnier.

At least two people were murdered with a gun stolen from a federal law enforcement officer in 2015. The lives of Kathryn Steinle and Antonio Ramos were tragically cut short in separate incidents by criminals using firearms stolen from the unattended vehicles of federal law enforcement agents. In addition to incidents in San Francisco, there have recently been several reports in the media of federal law enforcement officers either having their service weapons stolen or misplacing them, including the Capitol Police and the Secret Service.

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