[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3085 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3085

 To control crime by increasing penalties for armed violent criminals 
                           and drug dealers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 1996

Mr. Christensen (for himself, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Chrysler, Mr. English of 
Pennsylvania, Mrs. Seastrand, and Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To control crime by increasing penalties for armed violent criminals 
                           and drug dealers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hard Time for Gun Crimes Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY PRISON TERMS FOR POSSESSING, BRANDISHING, OR 
              DISCHARGING A FIREARM OR DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE DURING A 
              CRIME THAT IS A SERIOUS VIOLENT FELONY OR SERIOUS DRUG 
              OFFENSE.

    Section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
        (5) and (6), respectively; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
    ``(1) A person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence 
or drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence or serious 
drug trafficking crime which 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--
            ``(A) possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to the 
        sentence imposed for the crime of violence or drug trafficking 
        crime, be sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years;
            ``(B) brandishes a firearm, shall, in addition to the 
        sentence imposed for the crime of violence or drug trafficking 
        crime, be sentenced to imprisonment for 25 years; or
            ``(C) discharges a firearm with the intent to injure 
        another person, shall, in addition to the sentence imposed for 
        the crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, be sentenced 
        to imprisonment for 30 years;
except that if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive device or is 
equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, such additional 
sentence shall be imprisonment for 30 years more than the term of 
imprisonment that would otherwise be imposed under this paragraph.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the conduct of a person in 
defense of person or property during the course of a crime committed by 
another person (including the arrest or attempted arrest of such other 
person during or immediately after the commission of the crime), unless 
the person engaged in or participated in criminal conduct that gave 
rise to the criminal conduct of such other person.
    ``(3) In the case of the second or subsequent conviction of a 
person under this subsection--
            ``(A) if the person possessed a firearm during and in 
        relation to such second or subsequent crime of violence or drug 
        trafficking crime, the person shall, in addition to the 
        sentence imposed for such second or subsequent offense, be 
        sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 20 years;
            ``(B) if the person brandished a firearm during and in 
        relation to such second or subsequent crime of violence or drug 
        trafficking crime, the person shall, in addition to the 
        sentence imposed for such second or subsequent offense, be 
        sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 35 years; or
            ``(C) if the person discharged a firearm with the intent to 
        injure another person during and in relation to such second or 
        subsequent crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, the 
        person shall, in addition to the sentence imposed for such 
        second or subsequent offense, be sentenced to imprisonment for 
        not less than 50 years;
except that if the firearm is a machinegun or destructive device or is 
equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, the person shall, 
in addition to the sentence imposed for such second or subsequent 
offense, be sentenced to life imprisonment.
    ``(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court 
shall not impose a probationary sentence on any person convicted of a 
violation of this subsection, nor shall a term of imprisonment imposed 
under this subsection run concurrently with any other term of 
imprisonment including that imposed for the crime of violence, drug 
trafficking crime, serious violent felony, or serious drug offense in 
which the firearm was used.
    ``(B) No person sentenced under this subsection shall be released 
for any reason whatsoever during a term of imprisonment imposed under 
this subsection.''.

SEC. 3. MANDATORY PENALTIES FOR VIOLENT FELONS.

    Section 924(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ``The court shall sentence a person 
convicted of an offense under section 922(g)(1) to not less than 10 
years in prison if the person has a prior conviction for a serious 
violent felony (as defined in section 3559(c)(2)(F)), and to not less 
than 30 years in prison if the person has 2 such prior convictions.''.
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