A bill to amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the mandatory penalty for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Summary

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1970 to revise and increase the mandatory penalties for using or carrying a firearm during commission of a Federal felony. Defines such offense as using a firearm to commit a felony over which the district courts have exclusive jurisdiction or carrying a firearm during such a felony involving violence. Deletes the requirement that the firearm be carried "illegally." Increases the additional penalty imposed for such offense from one to ten years' imprisonment to five to ten years' imprisonment for a first offender and from two to 25 years to ten years to life imprisonment for a second or subsequent offender. Extends to first offenders the directions, currently applicable only to second offenders, that the court not suspend any sentence or grant probation and that the additional sentence not run concurrently with any term of imprisonment imposed for the offense itself. Makes a first offender ineligible for parole for five years and a second or subsequent offender ineligible for ten years. Expresses the sense of Congress that the executive prosecute vigorously such offenses.

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Timeline

1. 19 February 1981

   Introduced

   Read second time and referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 19 February 1981

   Introduced

   Introduced in Senate

   Source: IntroReferral

3. 27 February 1981

   Referred

   Referred to Subcommittee on Criminal Law.

   Source: Committee

4. 2 March 1981

   Committee

   Committee on Judiciary requested executive comment from Office of the Attorney General.

   Source: Committee

5. 14 June 1982

   Committee

   Committee on Judiciary received executive comment from Office of the Attorney General.

   Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

1 official file

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 19 February 1981

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Sen. Bumpers, Dale [D-AR] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Bentsen, Lloyd M. [D-TX] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Chiles, Lawton [D-FL] · D · Cosponsor
• · ssju00 · Standing

Related records

• related to → A bill to amend chapter 44 of title 18 of the United States Code to extend and strengthen the mandatory penalty feature of the prohibition against the use of firearms in Federal felonies and for other purposes.