Federal Bill Mandates 15-Year Minimum for Repeat Firearm Offenders, Removes Judicial Discretion

This legislation, the Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act, is a direct update to federal sentencing law, specifically targeting individuals who illegally possess a firearm after having multiple prior felony convictions. The core change is simple but heavy: if you’re convicted of illegal firearm possession (violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)) and you have three or more prior “serious felony convictions,” the minimum sentence jumps to 15 years, with a maximum of 30 years. Crucially, Section 2 of this Act locks that sentence in, removing the court’s ability to suspend the sentence or grant probation, which means judges lose all wiggle room in these cases.

The New Bottom Line: 15 Years, No Exceptions

The current federal system already uses the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) to hit repeat offenders with tougher sentences, but this bill significantly raises the stakes and removes judicial flexibility. For those who meet the criteria—three prior serious felonies—the mandatory minimum sentence is now a firm 15 years. Think of it like this: if you’re a judge, you can’t look at the specific circumstances of the case or the person’s life and decide on a shorter sentence or community supervision; the law demands 15 years, minimum. This shift, detailed in Section 2, means that the power to influence the outcome of the case moves almost entirely to the prosecution during the charging phase, since a conviction automatically triggers the enhanced, non-negotiable sentence.

Defining a ‘Serious Felony’—And Why It Matters

The bill also tweaks the definition of what qualifies as a “serious felony conviction” to trigger this 15-year minimum. Under the new language, a serious felony includes any conviction where the law at the time allowed for a maximum prison term of at least 10 years. Even more expansively, it also counts a group of convictions handed down in the same court session if the total prison time ordered was 10 years or more. This is a big deal because it’s based on the potential sentence, not necessarily the crime itself or the time actually served. For example, if someone had three separate non-violent felonies years ago that each carried a potential 10-year maximum, they would be subject to this 15-year mandatory minimum if later caught with a gun illegally, even if the prior offenses weren't violent or gun-related.

Who This Impacts and When It Kicks In

The people most affected by this are, obviously, those who fall into the category of repeat offenders facing illegal firearm possession charges. For them, the potential consequence of conviction just doubled in severity and lost any chance of judicial mitigation. Section 3 makes it clear that these harsher rules only apply to crimes committed after the bill becomes law—it’s not retroactive. This means no one can use this new law to challenge an old sentence, but anyone convicted of a qualifying offense moving forward will face the new, rigid 15-to-30-year sentence. This change is projected to increase the federal prison population by ensuring that a specific group of offenders serves significantly longer sentences with no possibility of early release via probation or suspension.