A bill meant to offer more protection for federal correctional officers was co-introduced by U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, R-Cogan Station, last week.

If passed, the bill will amend the United States Code to require the director of the Bureau of Prisons to ensure federal prisons or correctional institutes provide a secure storage area outside the security perimeter for firearms carried by employees.

“Without a secure place to hold firearms while on the job, officers on their way to and from work are incredibly vulnerable to vicious attacks,” Marino said. “Correctional officers make a choice to protect us from dangerous criminals every single day. At the very least, they should be afforded every opportunity to do the same for themselves.”

Correctional officers do not carry weapons inside the prison, but the bill would enable them to at least bring a weapon to and from the facility, while having a place to store it before entering the secure area, according to Marino.

The case of Lt. Osvaldo Albarati, a correctional officer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Puerto Rico, is a driving force for the bill. Albarati was killed on Feb. 26, 2013, after he left the detention center. He was believed to have been ambushed in an attack that was orchestrated, in part, by some inmates within the center, according to Marino.

“Allowing secure storage for firearms at prisons is a common-sense solution that will help us protect law enforcement officers from unnecessarily risky situations,” Marino said.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Zionsville, introduced similar legislation in the Senate during last year’s session, titled the Lt. Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2015. However, after being assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, it saw no further action.

Marino’s bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.