WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Stop Gun Criminals Act, legislation to increase penalties for felons who illegally possess or use firearms.
“Criminals who illegally use a gun to commit murder and other crimes must face stronger penalties,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Repeat gun offenders must know if they use a gun illegally, they’ll suffer the consequences.”
The Stop Gun Criminals Act:
- Sets a minimum sentence of five years for illegally possessing a gun.
- Increases the mandatory minimum sentence for serious repeat felons (defined as criminals with at least three prior convictions for crimes that are punishable by 10 years or longer) if they use a gun in the commission of more crimes, increasing the minimum from five years to seven years.
- For such criminals who brandish the gun during the crime, the minimum would increase from seven years to 10 years.
- For such criminals who actually fire their weapon during the crime, the minimum would increase from 10 years to 15 years.
- Makes a technical correction to remove the “residual clause” from the Armed Career Criminal Act, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015 for being unconstitutionally vague.
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