Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced legislation Monday that would allow qualified former special operations personnel to carry concealed firearms nationwide under the federal framework currently covering qualified retired law enforcement officers.
The Special Operations Forces Concealed Carry Act would amend Section 926C of Title 18 to include “qualified special operators” alongside qualified retired law enforcement officers covered by the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 (LEOSA).
Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives in April 2026.
“Our Special Operations Forces spend their careers protecting the American people with unmatched discipline, judgment, and professionalism. This bill honors that reality by giving qualified special operators the same nationwide concealed carry privileges already afforded to retired law enforcement officers,” Sheehy said in a statement provided to Breitbart News.
“Our elite warfighters never stop serving, and this bill ensures the law reflects the trust they’ve earned through a lifetime of sacrifice,” he added.
LEOSA established federal concealed-carry protections for certain qualified active and retired law enforcement officers. Sheehy’s legislation would amend the portion governing qualified retired law enforcement officers, Section 926C of Title 18, to extend similar privileges to former special operations personnel who satisfy the bill’s training, identification, and continuing-eligibility requirements.
The legislation’s findings state that highly trained special operations personnel who achieved expert-level military marksmanship qualifications have demonstrated firearms proficiency and a commitment to public service. It also states that their service should be recognized without weakening existing safeguards governing firearm possession in sensitive places.
To qualify, an individual would have to be a former member of the U.S. Armed Forces who attended a special operations force assessment, was screened, evaluated, and selected for qualification training, and was awarded and held a special warfare or special operations military occupational specialty or skill designator as defined by U.S. Special Operations Command.
The bill also specifies which forms of Navy special warfare service qualify for records or documentation purposes. Those categories include commissioned or warrant officers qualified in special warfare, enlisted personnel who served as special warfare operators, Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewman Warrant Officers, and enlisted personnel who served as Special Warfare Combatant Craft Enlisted Sailors.
Qualified individuals would be required, at their own expense, to meet the active-duty standards for qualification in firearms training determined by the state in which they reside. The qualification would have to be completed no more than one year before the individual carries the concealed firearm.
They would also have to complete an attorney general-certified “Concealed Carry Use of Force in Society” course covering civilian legal duties, standards of reasonable belief, and de-escalation techniques relevant to domestic concealed carry.
Carry authority would continue only while the individual maintained an honorable-discharge status, as applicable; maintained status as a qualified special operator; was not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory substance; remained eligible under federal law to possess a firearm; and satisfied the firearms and use-of-force training requirements.
The authority would terminate immediately if any of those conditions were no longer satisfied. The measure also states that it would not exempt a qualified special operator from any federal firearm restriction.
Individuals using the proposed authority would have to carry proof of identity and qualification, either through photographic identification issued by the Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs or through a valid government-issued photo ID paired with official service documentation confirming honorable discharge and qualified-special-operator status. The documentation would have to be presented when requested by law enforcement.
The legislation would direct the Defense Department and VA to jointly implement a photographic identification program beginning no later than 180 days after enactment, while allowing qualified special operators to use valid service documentation in the interim. It would also preserve existing federal firearm restrictions, create no new private right of action, limit remedies to those available under Section 926C or other applicable law as in effect on the day before enactment, and include a severability clause.
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