Thus, if you bring a firearm to a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, you will have a mandatory minimum of five years in prison. If you brandish it, which means show it or make it visible to other people, it goes up to a mandatory minimum of seven years. If the firearm is discharged one time, whether in the air or in the direction of a person, the minimum goes up to ten years. If you bring a semi-automatic rifle or a shortened shotgun or rifle, the minimum is ten years. Machine guns and guns with silencers are 30 year minimums. That is a big jump. However, things can get much, much worse on second and subsequent offenses.
The statute goes on to say:
“(C) In the case of a second or subsequent conviction under this subsection, the person shall—
(i) be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 25 years; and (ii) if the firearm involved is a machinegun or a destructive device, or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, be sentenced to imprisonment for life.”
So, for second and subsequent offenses, you can get “stacked” subsequent sentences of not less than 25 years for repeat possession of a firearm in furtherance of an applicable crime. Stacked means these sentences run on top of and following the first mandatory minimum for your firearm (and any other sentence on which that one would be stacked upon). If the subsequent crimes involve machine guns or silencers, multiple stacked life sentences are possible.