Federal law requires lengthy 5-, 7-, 10-, and 30-year mandatory minimum sentences for possessing, brandishing, or discharging a gun in the course of a drug trafficking crime or a crime of violence. There are also mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years for each subsequent conviction. The law requires that these mandatory prison terms be served back-to-back (i.e., consecutively, not concurrently) with each other and with any other punishment the person receives for the underlying offense. This is known as “stacking,” and it can result in absurdly lengthy sentences (see the story of Weldon Angelos below, a nonviolent, small-time pot seller serving a 55-year mandatory minimum sentence). The § 924(c) law is also often applied to nonviolent gun owners who do not actually harm or injure anyone. Additionally, the law applies even to legally purchased and registered guns and rifles found in the person’s home, even if the guns were not present or used during the actual offense. All too often, a nonviolent or addicted drug offender selling drugs in their home can find themselves serving an extra five years in prison just because they also had a gun in the home — even if the gun was never used during a drug sale.
The Armed Career Criminal Act is another federal gun law that requires a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone who possesses a gun or ammunition and also has three prior convictions for drug trafficking or violent felonies. The mandatory minimum applies even if the prior convictions are very old, nonviolent, minor, resulted from a drug addiction, or resulted in no prison time.
Currently, there is no safety valve for any federal gun crimes.
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