Report on Mandatory Sentences - Law Reform Commission

2.150 In 1984 Congress amended the provision to require a mandatory minimum sentence of five years
for using or carrying a firearm during a “crime of violence”. 343 It also established mandatory sentencing
enhancements for possessing dangerous ammunition during drug and violent crimes.
2.151 In 1986 Congress expanded the scope of the provision to include using or carrying a firearm
during the commission of a drug trafficking crime. 344 In addition, Congress expanded the scope of
another provision 345 which prescribes a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for armed career
criminals, to cover firearms possession offences committed by persons who have three convictions for
crimes broadly defined as violent felonies and serious drug offences.
2.152 In 1998 Congress amended the provision in three ways. 346 First, it amended the statute to
require a mandatory minimum sentence of five years if the offender possessed a firearm in furtherance of
a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime. Second, it established more severe mandatory minimum
sentences for certain offenders depending on whether, in violating the provision, a firearm was
“brandished” or “discharged”, requiring mandatory minimum sentences of 7 years and 10 years of
imprisonment respectively. Finally, it increased the mandatory minimum sentence for second or
subsequent convictions under the provision from 20 years to 25 years, to ensure that more serious
offenders were punishable by progressively higher mandatory minimum sentences.
2.153 During the 1970s a number of states also introduced mandatory sentencing provisions for
firearms offences. In 1975 Massachusetts passed the Bartley Fox Amendment which prescribed a
mandatory minimum sentence of one year for the offence of carrying a firearm without the appropriate
permit. 347 In the same year Florida passed the Felony Firearm Law 1975 which prescribed a mandatory
minimum sentence of three years for possessing a firearm during the commission of 11 specified
felonies. 348 In 1976 California passed the Uniform Determinate Sentencing Act 1976 which prescribes
certain sentence enhancements of one or two years for possession or use of a firearm, respectively,
during the commission of an offence. 349 In 1977 Michigan passed the Felony Firearm Statute 1977
which prescribes an additional two-year sentence for those who possess a firearm while committing a
felony. 350 A number of other states, including Missouri, Connecticut and Nebraska, also enacted some
variant of mandatory sentences for offences involving firearms during this time. 351
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<strong>Report</strong> to Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System (United States
Sentencing Commission, 2011) at 25; and Scott Wallace “Mandatory Minimums and the Betrayal of
Sentencing Reform: A Legislative Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” (1993) 57 Fed Probation 9 at 10.
<strong>Report</strong> to Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System (United States
Sentencing Commission, 2011) at 25-26.
18 USC § 924(e),
<strong>Report</strong> to Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System (United States
Sentencing Commission, 2011) at 26.
Mass Gen Laws Ann ch 269, § 10(c) (Supp 1976). Beha “‘And Nobody can get You out’ - The Impact of a
Mandatory Prison Sentence for the Illegal Carrying of a Firearm on the Use of Firearms and on the
Administration of Criminal Justice - Part I” (1977) 57 B U L rev 96.
Loftin and McDowall “The Deterrent Effects of the Florida Felony Firearm Law” (1984) 75 J Crim L &
Criminology 250 at 251.
Parnas and Salerno “The Influence behind, Substance and Impact of the New Determinate Setnencing Law in
California” 11 UCD L Rev 29; and Lizotte and Zatz “The Use and Abuse of Sentence Enhancement for
Firearms Offenses in California” (1986) 49 Law & Contemp Probs 199 at 203-204.
Loftin et al “Mandatory Sentencing and Firearms Violence: Evaluating an Alternative to Gun Control” (1982-
1983) 17 Law & Soc’y Rev 287; and Heumann and Loftin “Mandatory Sentencing and the Abolition of Plea
Bargaining: The Michigan Felony Firearm Statute” (1978-1979) 13 Law & Soc’y Rev 393 at 395.
Heumann and Loftin “Mandatory Sentencing and the Abolition of Plea Bargaining: The Michigan Felony
Firearm Statute” (1978-1979) 13 Law & Soc’y Rev 393 at 397 (footnote 9).
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