A Mandatory Minimum Sentence Is Added to Another Mandatory Minimum in the Gun Control Act of 1968

When the legislature rewrites a statute to overrule a high court's interpretation of that statute that the legislature deems too lenient, that rewritten statute will be interpreted to toughen rather than to weaken the law. That is how all eight justices on the Supreme Court--Justice Kagen recused herself-- resolved a split between circuits to interpret "An Act [t]o throttle criminal use of guns," known informally as the Bailey Fix Act, because it was intended to overrule Bailey v. United States, 515 U.S. 137 (1995). Bailey's conviction for using and carrying a gun in relation to a drug trafficking crime was overruled. The weapon had been locked in the trunk of the car Bailey was arrested in.