I just looked it up.<p>In 1970 924(c) was 1 year mandatory and 2 year for subsequent using or carrying a gun during a felony.<p>In 1984 they changed it to 5 years for carrying a gun during a &quot;crime of violence&quot;. 20 for subsequent.<p>In 1986 they added &quot; during a drug trafficking crime &quot;.<p>In 1998 in addition to use or carry they added &quot;possesses&quot; &quot;in furtherance of any such crime.&quot; And they increased the subsequent minimum from 20 to 25.<p>Note that these were all Republican congresses so i agree that the anti gun theory doesn&#x27;t really hold that well, it was mostly just &quot;tough on crime&quot; hysteria. The 1986 drug stuff was in response to some basketball player, Len Bias, that died of an overdose.