A felon caught with a gun faces up to 15 years in federal prison under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and a mandatory minimum of 15 years if the defendant has three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. How much jail time a felon with a gun actually receives depends on the person’s criminal history, how the gun was being used, and whether federal or state prosecutors bring the case. Many defendants also face separate state charges that add time on top.
The Federal Maximum
The federal ban on felon firearm possession is in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). It makes it illegal for anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison to possess a firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The word “punishable” does a lot of work here. If the prior offense could have carried more than a year, the person is a prohibited possessor, no matter how little time they actually served. Someone who got probation for a felony is treated the same as someone who did real prison time.
The penalty sits in a separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(8): up to 15 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 924 – Penalties A term of supervised release follows. Possessing another firearm during that supervised release triggers mandatory revocation and a return to prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment
How Judges Arrive at the Actual Number
The 15-year statutory maximum is a ceiling, not a target. The sentence a defendant actually receives is driven by the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Under Guideline § 2K2.1, a prohibited person starts at a base offense level of 14. That level climbs to 20, 22, 24, or 26 depending on the nature of the defendant’s prior convictions and the type of firearm involved.4United States Sentencing Commission. Guidelines Manual Chapter 2 – Section 2K2.1
Once the offense level is set, it’s cross-referenced against the defendant’s criminal history category on a sentencing table that produces a recommended range in months. A first-time felon with no violent history lands in a very different range than someone with a long record. Judges can depart from the guidelines, but they remain the starting point for nearly every federal sentence, and most sentences fall within or close to the calculated range.
The 15-Year Mandatory Minimum: The Armed Career Criminal Act
The single biggest sentencing hammer in these cases is the Armed Career Criminal Act, found at 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). If a defendant has three or more prior convictions for a “violent felony” or “serious drug offense” committed on separate occasions, the ACCA imposes a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison. The judge cannot go below that number, cannot suspend the sentence, and cannot grant probation.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
A “violent felony” under the ACCA means any crime punishable by more than a year in prison that involves the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against another person, or that qualifies as burglary, arson, or extortion, or involves explosives. The Supreme Court struck down the statute’s broader “residual clause” as unconstitutionally vague, which narrowed the kinds of prior offenses that qualify. A “serious drug offense” means a state or federal controlled substance offense carrying a maximum sentence of ten years or more. There’s no time limit on how old the prior convictions can be, and convictions resulting from concurrent sentences can each count separately, as long as they arose from different criminal episodes.
When the Gun Is Connected to Another Crime
Sentences stack fast when a firearm is tied to another federal offense. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), anyone who uses or carries a firearm during a federal crime of violence or drug trafficking crime faces mandatory consecutive time on top of whatever sentence the underlying crime carries:
- At least 5 additional years for possessing a firearm
- At least 7 additional years for brandishing a firearm
- At least 10 additional years for discharging a firearm
These sentences cannot run at the same time as the sentence for the underlying crime. They are added on top. A drug trafficking conviction carrying 10 years plus a brandishing charge means a minimum of 17 years before any other enhancements apply.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
State Charges on Top
Every state also prohibits felons from possessing firearms, and state penalties operate independently of federal law. A person can be prosecuted in both systems for the same act of possession without violating double jeopardy, because state and federal governments are separate sovereigns. Most felon-in-possession cases are actually handled at the state level. Federal prosecutors tend to pick up cases where the defendant has a particularly violent history or the possession ties into a larger federal investigation.
State sentencing structures vary widely. Some states classify the offense as a lower-level felony with a sentencing range of roughly two to ten years and give judges significant discretion within that range. Others impose mandatory minimums, particularly when the underlying felony was a violent crime. Background survey data suggests state mandatory minimums commonly fall in the two-to-three-year range, though specific figures differ by jurisdiction. Anyone facing state charges needs to look at the specific statute in the state where the case is being prosecuted.
What Counts as Possession
You don’t have to be holding the gun to be convicted. Actual possession means the firearm is physically on your person or within immediate reach. Constructive possession applies when the gun is somewhere you control, like your home, your car, or a storage unit, and you know about it and have the ability to access it.6United States District Court District of Massachusetts. Possession of a Firearm or Ammunition in or Affecting Commerce by a Convicted Felon Courts also recognize joint possession, meaning two or more people can each be found to possess the same weapon if both have knowledge of and access to it.
The prohibition extends to ammunition. Possessing even a single round without a gun carries the same statutory penalties as possessing the firearm itself.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 922 – Unlawful Acts This catches people off guard. A felon who moves into a home where a previous occupant left loose rounds in a drawer is technically at risk, and prosecutors do bring these cases.
What Can Reduce the Sentence
Statutes set the boundaries, but judges still have meaningful discretion in cases that don’t trigger a mandatory minimum. Acceptance of responsibility is the most concrete and predictable mitigating factor in the federal system. Under Sentencing Guideline § 3E1.1, a defendant who clearly demonstrates acceptance of responsibility receives a two-level reduction in offense level. If the offense level before the reduction is 16 or higher and the defendant cooperated by entering a timely guilty plea, an additional one-level reduction is available.8United States Sentencing Commission. 2011 Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual Chapter Three Part E – Acceptance of Responsibility Those reductions sound modest, but on the sentencing table they translate to months, sometimes years, off the recommended range.
Circumstances matter too. A judge treats a case differently when someone found a gun and was in the process of turning it in versus someone carrying a loaded weapon in a high-crime area at 2 a.m. Whether the gun was loaded, where it was found, and what the person was doing at the time all feed into the sentencing calculus. Steady employment, family responsibilities, community ties, and a history free of violence can also be presented to the court as reasons for leniency.