S. 191

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight

An Act

To throttle criminal use of guns.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code,

is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘(c)’’ and all that follows through the end

of paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

‘‘(c)(1)(A) Except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence

is otherwise provided by this subsection or by any other provision

of law, any person who, during and in relation to any crime of

violence or drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence

or drug trafficking crime that provides for an enhanced punishment

if committed by the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device)

for which the person may be prosecuted in a court of the United

States, uses or carries a firearm, or who, in furtherance of any

such crime, possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment

provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime—

‘‘(i) be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less

than 5 years;

‘‘(ii) if the firearm is brandished, be sentenced to a term

of imprisonment of not less than 7 years; and

‘‘(iii) if the firearm is discharged, be sentenced to a term

of imprisonment of not less than 10 years.

‘‘(B) If the firearm possessed by a person convicted of a violation

of this subsection—

‘‘(i) is a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or semiautomatic assault weapon, the person shall be sentenced to

a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years; or

‘‘(ii) is a machinegun or a destructive device, or is equipped

with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, the person shall

be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 30

years.

‘‘(C) In the case of a second or subsequent conviction under

this subsection, the person shall—

‘‘(i) be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less

than 25 years; and

‘‘(ii) if the firearm involved is a machinegun or a destructive

device, or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler,

be sentenced to imprisonment for life.

‘‘(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of law—

‘‘(i) a court shall not place on probation any person convicted of a violation of this subsection; and
S. 191—2

‘‘(ii) no term of imprisonment imposed on a person under

this subsection shall run concurrently with any other term

of imprisonment imposed on the person, including any term

of imprisonment imposed for the crime of violence or drug

trafficking crime during which the firearm was used, carried,

or possessed.’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘brandish’

means, with respect to a firearm, to display all or part of

the firearm, or otherwise make the presence of the firearm

known to another person, in order to intimidate that person,

regardless of whether the firearm is directly visible to that

person.’’.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3559(c)(2)(F)(i) of title

18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘firearms possession (as described in section 924(c));’’ after ‘‘firearms use;’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.