What is the test for using or carrying a firearm under section 924(c)(1) of the Criminal Code?

1 In the typical section 924(c)(1) case, the firearm is found nearby the defendant, raising a strong inference that he used or carried it. In that situation, the defendant generally argues that, though he used or carried the gun, he did not do so in relation to the crime. It is a rare case where the relatedness element is conceded, or clearly established, and the use or carry element is nonetheless disputed. The explanation for this, of course, is that once the firearm is found to have played some role in the commission of the offense, the evidence supporting that finding also will tend to show that the defendant used, or intended to use, the gun. See United States v. Hadfield, 918 F.2d 987, 998 (1st Cir.1990) ("It is reasonable, we think, if an operable firearm is found in close proximity to a room or rooms in which drug distribution, processing, or storage occurs, for the factfinder to conclude that the defendant knew the gun was there and intended it to be available for use in connection with the predicate offense."). It is perhaps due to this analytical overlap that this circuit has heretofore failed to make a clear distinction between the two elements of section 924(c)(1). In the run of the mill case, that distinction will be of slight importance, however in a case such as the one presented here, the necessity of a twofold inquiry becomes apparent.