text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom to Serve Without Fear Act of 
  2011''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds the following:
              (1) A central tenet of representative democracy is that 
          citizens enjoy the right to peaceably assemble and petition 
          their government for redress of grievances.
              (2) For this right to be exercised meaningfully, elected 
          representatives must be able to make themselves accessible to 
          their constituents.
              (3) Fear of gun violence at events where elected 
          representatives are performing their official or 
          representational duties has a chilling effect on our democracy 
          in at least 2 ways:
                      (A) by discouraging citizens from engaging in the 
                  public and personal dialogue with their representatives 
                  that is the lifeblood of vibrant democratic politics; 
                  and
                      (B) by leading elected representatives to reduce 
                  the frequency and extent of personal contact with their 
                  constituents as a reasonable precaution against 
                  unreasonable threats to their personal safety.
              (4) During the summer of 2009, there were multiple cases of 
          persons carrying firearms outside of venues at which the 
          President of the United States was holding meetings and 
          official events. In one instance, a man carried an AR-15 
          automatic assault rifle and a sidearm. In another instance, 
          occurring hours before a presidential town hall a week earlier, 
          a man was arrested for breaching a security perimeter at the 
          location of the event, and was found to be in possession of an 
          unlicensed and loaded handgun.
              (5) In recent months, there has been a threefold increase 
          in the number of reported threats against Members of the United 
          States House of Representatives and Members of the United 
          States Senate.
  
  SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON KNOWINGLY POSSESSING A FIREARM NEAR A VENUE AT 
                WHICH A MEMBER OF CONGRESS IS PERFORMING AN OFFICIAL AND 
                REPRESENTATIONAL DUTY OR CAMPAIGNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.
  
      (a) Prohibition.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
  amended by adding at the end the following:
      ``(aa)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful 
  for any person, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, to 
  knowingly carry a firearm--
              ``(A) in, or within 250 feet of an entrance to or exit 
          from, a building or structure where the person knows that a 
          Member of Congress is--
                      ``(i) performing an official and representational 
                  duty of the Member;
                      ``(ii) engaging in campaign activity as a candidate 
                  for election for Federal office for purposes of the 
                  Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971; or
                      ``(iii) engaging in campaign activity as a 
                  candidate for election for State or local office, as 
                  determined pursuant to State law; or
              ``(B) at, or within 500 feet of, any other place where the 
          person knows that a Member of Congress is performing such a 
          duty or engaging in such a campaign activity,
  if there is visible, at each place that is at the applicable distance 
  specified in this sentence from the building, structure, or other 
  place, a sign which clearly and conspicuously states that a Member of 
  Congress will be present at the building, structure, or other place, 
  and so states the time interval during which the Member of Congress is 
  scheduled to be so present.
      ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the carrying of a firearm--
              ``(A) by a law enforcement officer (whether on- or off-
          duty) who is authorized to carry a firearm in the line of duty; 
          or
              ``(B) pursuant to the express written permission of--
                      ``(i) any Member of Congress present at the 
                  location involved, which permission has been filed with 
                  the chief of police of the locality involved; or
                      ``(ii) the chief of police of the locality 
                  involved;
              ``(C) on real property owned or rented by the carrier of 
          the firearm;
              ``(D) on the premises of a business in which the carrier of 
          the firearm is employed and authorized by the employer to carry 
          the firearm; or
              ``(E) which is in a locked container or otherwise not 
          readily accessible for use.
      ``(3) If Federal investigative or prosecutive jurisdiction is 
  asserted for a violation of this subsection, such assertion shall 
  suspend the exercise of jurisdiction by a State or local authority, 
  under any applicable State or local law, until Federal action is 
  terminated.
      ``(4) Violations of this subsection shall be investigated by the 
  Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistance may be requested from any 
  Federal, State, or local agency, including the Army, Navy, and Air 
  Force, any statute, rule, or regulation to the contrary 
  notwithstanding.''.
      (b) Penalties.--Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding 
  at the end the following:
      ``(8) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(aa) shall be fined 
  under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.''.
  
  SEC. 4. ENCOURAGING STATES TO ADOPT FIREARMS PROHIBITIONS SIMILAR TO 
                FEDERAL LAW TO PROTECT STATE AND LOCAL ELECTED AND 
                APPOINTED OFFICIALS.
  
      (a) In General.--For each fiscal year after the expiration of the 
  period specified in subsection (b)(1) in which a State receives funds 
  for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program under 
  subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
  Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), the State shall have in 
  effect throughout the State laws and policies that prohibit any person 
  to knowingly possess a firearm near a venue at which an elected or 
  appointed State or local official is performing an official and 
  representational duty or campaigning for public office if such 
  possession would constitute an offense under subsection (aa) of section 
  922 of title 18, United States Code, if such official were a Member of 
  Congress.
      (b) Compliance and Ineligibility.--
              (1) Compliance date.--Each State shall have not more than 1 
          year from the date of enactment of this Act to comply with 
          subsection (a), except that--
                      (A) the Attorney General may grant an additional 1 
                  year to a State that is making good faith efforts to 
                  comply with such subsection; and
                      (B) the Attorney General shall waive the 
                  requirements of subsection (a) if compliance with such 
                  subsection by a State would be unconstitutional under 
                  the constitution of such State.
              (2) Ineligibility for funds.--For any fiscal year after the 
          expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State 
          that fails to comply with subsection (a) shall not receive 10 
          percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated for that 
          fiscal year to the State for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
          Assistance Grant Program under subpart 1 of part E of title I 
          of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
          U.S.C. 3750 et seq.).
      (c) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under such Edward Byrne 
  Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to a State for failure to 
  fully comply with subsection (a) shall be reallocated under that 
  program to States that have not failed to comply with such subsection.
target: Freedom to Serve Without Fear Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from knowingly carrying a firearm in, or within 250 feet of an entrance to or exit from, a building or structure, or at, or within 500 feet of, any other place, where a Member of Congress is performing an official and representational duty or engaging in campaign activity as a candidate for federal, state, or local office, if there are visible at such distances signs which clearly and conspicuously state that a Member will be present and the time the Member will be present. Specifies exceptions, including pursuant to the express written permission of the Member or the chief of police of the locality involved.
  
  Requires a 10% reduction in funds a state would receive for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a fiscal year if the state fails to have in effect by the specified compliance date laws and policies that similarly prohibit individuals from knowingly possessing firearms near a venue at which an elected or appointed state or local official is performing an official and representational duty or campaigning for public office.
feat_title: To prohibit the knowing possession of a firearm near a venue at which a Member of Congress is performing an official and representational duty or campaigning for public office.