10 U.S.C. § 7683 — Excess non-automatic service rifles: loan or donation for funeral and other ceremonial purposes

(a) Authority To Lend or Donate: (1) The Secretary of the Army, under regulations the Secretary sets, may conditionally lend or donate up to 15 excess M–1 rifles, plus slings and cartridge belts, to an eligible organization for funeral ceremonies of a member or former member of the armed forces, and for other ceremonial purposes. (2) If the rifles are for a military funeral ceremony, the Secretary may issue and deliver them — plus any needed accessories and blank ammunition — free of charge. (3) (A) To help an eligible organization meet its needs for funerals and other ceremonies, the Secretary may, where appropriate, (i) lend or donate other excess non-automatic service rifles, or (ii) let an eligible organization keep non-automatic service rifles other than M–1 rifles that it already has. (B) None of this overrides any other federal law or regulation governing the use or ownership of firearms. (b) Relief From Liability: The Secretary may excuse an eligible organization — and whoever guaranteed its bond — from having to pay for equipment that was lost or destroyed, if there's clear evidence the loss wasn't caused by negligence. (c) Conditions on Loan or Donation: The Secretary must set conditions on how the rifles are used to ensure they stay secure, safe, and accounted for, and may add any other conditions the Secretary considers appropriate. (d) Eligible Organization Defined: This means: (1) a unit or other organization of honor guards the Secretary of the Army recognizes as honor guards for a national cemetery; (2) a law enforcement agency; or (3) a local chapter of a nationally recognized veterans' organization, as the Secretary of the Army determines.