A recent study of gang members had nine out of ten saying their gang had a gun stash for members to use. Nearly half of the gang members said gun thefts were a regular activity. Two-thirds of members see gangs sell and buy guns. 61% of the gang members of New York City, New York, and elsewhere said they often shot at people they don’t like from cars. Federal firearms laws have severe penalties when a violent offender or drug trafficker uses a firearm.
Federal firearms laws
The Federal firearms laws can give violent offenders and drug offenders more time on their sentence. A criminal defense would take the fact that possession of firearms by convicted felons may add up to ten years on a sentence. A defendant with three felonies or a drug trafficking charge must serve a minimum of 15 years in prison. A person can get a federal firearms charge by just having a gun on them during a crime.
The federal firearms laws are the best tool to add significant time to a violent defendant’s sentence. An example of the law working is the increased sentence of a suspect who robs two commercial businesses or two federally insured financial institutes. The suspect uses firearms to interrupt interstate commerce and can get up to 25 years in prison, which doesn’t include the substantive robbery charges.
Use of powerful firearms
The use of an assault weapon or shotgun adds another ten years to a sentence under the federal firearms laws. A silencer or destructive device with an assault weapon adds 30 years of prison time. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 adds new subsections to the laws. It’s a crime for juveniles to possess handgun ammunition or a handgun or for adults to give them to juveniles.
A first offender juvenile violation is a misdemeanor. An adult faces a misdemeanor unless they knowingly gave the handgun to the juvenile to use. An adult charged with a felony would get an additional ten years. Federal firearms laws are an aggressive tool to prosecute violent crimes. The laws quickly add years to sentences and are easy to prove.
