S. 2250 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jul 10, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryBroadens crimes triggering mandatory gun sentences
The Armed Career Criminal Act currently requires a 15-year mandatory prison sentence for people convicted of illegally possessing a firearm if they have at least three prior convictions for serious drug offenses or violent felonies. This bill changes which previous convictions count toward that requirement, replacing the current narrow categories with a broader definition of "serious felony conviction" that includes any felony punishable by 10 or more years in prison, or multiple felonies sentenced together totaling 10 or more years.
How it affects you
This primarily affects people in the criminal justice system who have been convicted of felonies and are charged with illegally possessing a firearm. The broader definition means more of their past convictions could trigger the mandatory 15-year minimum sentence, potentially resulting in longer prison terms for this offense.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jul 10, 2025)
Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act
This bill expands the criminal offenses that qualify as prior convictions for the purpose of enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).
Currently, the ACCA imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum prison term on a defendant who possesses, receives, or transports a firearm as a prohibited person (e.g., felon) and has three or more prior convictions for a serious drug offense or violent felony (or both) committed on separate occasions.
The term serious drug offense means a federal or state offense with a statutory maximum prison term of 10 years or more. A state offense must involve the manufacture, distribution, or possession of a controlled substance as defined in the Controlled Substances Act.
The term violent felony means any crime punishable by a prison term of more than one year that (1) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force; or (2) is burglary, arson, or extortion, or involves explosives.
This bill replaces serious drug offense and violent felony with a new category of qualifying prior offense: serious felony convictions. The term serious felony conviction means (1) any conviction that, at the time of sentencing, was a felony offense punishable by a statutory maximum prison term of 10 years or more; or (2) any group of convictions imposed in the same proceeding or in consolidated proceedings with a total prison term of 10 years of more, regardless of how many years the defendant served.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 2250
A BILL
Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act
Sponsor: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) · Introduced Jul 10, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jul 10, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.”