Anthony Bandiero
Attorney and Senior Legal Instructor, Blue to Gold Law Enforcement Training
A retired officer, 21 years on the job, says he was in Florida and was told he could not carry concealed because he was no longer active. That is almost the whole fact pattern. Here are the LEOSA basics, and then the parts of this story that do not add up.
According to one of my officers that just retired, he says that he was in Florida and was told he couldn’t carry a CCW because he was not an active law enforcement officer.
My name is Anthony Bandiero, I’m an attorney and senior legal instructor for Blue to Gold Law Enforcement Training.
This retired officer does not give me a lot of context about what actually occurred. But he says basically, I retired after 21 years on the job, and somebody told me that I could not carry concealed because I was not an active law enforcement officer.
And I’m like, look, obviously I don’t know any more facts than this. But let me just kind of give you a quick rundown.
What does LEOSA actually require of a retired officer?
Number one, I have a whole class on LEOSA. If you are an active or retired law enforcement officer and you want to know the legal parameters about carrying concealed in all 50 states plus DC, go to Blue to Gold and look at the on-demand courses. I have that class recorded for you. You can watch it there.
But basically LEOSA, which is the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, which was passed by George Bush shortly after 9/11, says that essentially if you are retired with 10 or more years of service, you were given a retirement credential, right, it says retired police officer, and you complete a qualification, a shooting class, within the last year, then you get to carry concealed in all 50 states.
And then you have to not be under the influence, also not a prohibited person.
Where can a retired officer carry under LEOSA?
Where do you get to carry concealed? Everywhere except public buildings, if it’s prohibited. Public lands, private property where they tell you to leave, and so forth. But generally all those other areas are fine.
There’s really not a lot of gun-free zones under LEOSA, I’ll just put it that way.
Does LEOSA override a state’s gun-free zones?
Even though some of the more strict states, like Hawaii, New Jersey and so forth, think that these places can also be restricted. Like some streets, or these gun-free zones. I mean, there’s just a ton of churches and so forth.
It’s my interpretation that if you have LEOSA and your state law says that you cannot carry in a church, it doesn’t apply to LEOSA, because a church is not one of the named places where guns can be prohibited under state law.
What does not add up about this story?
So for the retired officer who’s asked me this question, if you have some more context, maybe you were told you couldn’t carry in a particular building, and maybe that building was a government building. That would be true. Maybe only active law enforcement officers can carry there. But if you were somewhere else, then you’re fine.
But the other thing too is, there must be something more to the story, because Florida has constitutional carry. And I don’t know why they would be giving the guy a hard time either way, because you don’t need a permit in Florida to carry concealed.
But maybe that’s only for residents. And if I’m wrong on that, why don’t you tell me in the comments below.
All right, if you have any more questions about LEOSA, let me know.
The short version
- Ten or more years of service, a retirement credential that says retired police officer, and a qualification shooting class within the last year.
- Not under the influence, and not a prohibited person.
- Then you carry concealed “in all 50 states.”
- “There’s really not a lot of gun-free zones under LEOSA, I’ll just put it that way.”
- On churches in restrictive states: “It’s my interpretation that if you have LEOSA and your state law says that you cannot carry in a church, it doesn’t apply to LEOSA.”
- Retirement status by itself is not a reason to deny carry.
- “There must be something more to the story, because Florida has constitutional carry.”
Related from Blue to Gold
- What Is LEOSA? A Plain-English Guide for Active and Retired Officers
- Can Police Unload or Disassemble a Lawfully Carried Gun During a Traffic Stop?
- SCOTUS Strikes Hawaii’s Private Property Carry Consent Rule
This article is an edited transcript of Roadside Chat EP#694. It is legal training, not legal advice. Check your state law and your agency policy, because both can be more restrictive than the Fourth Amendment.
