232
Opinion of the Court
must be so limited. On the contrary, it is perfectly reasonable to construe § 2B3.1(b)(2)(B) as including uses, such as trading and bludgeoning, that do not constitute use for the firearm's "intended purpose."
It is true that the Guidelines commentary defines " '[o]therwise used' " as conduct that falls short of " 'discharg[ing] a firearm but [is] more than brandishing, displaying, or possessing [it].' " Post, at 243 (quoting USSG § 1B1.1, comment., n. 1(g)). That definition, however, simply reflects the peculiar hierarchy of culpability established in USSG § 2B3.1(b)(2). It clarifies that between the most culpable conduct of discharging the firearm and less culpable actions such as "brandishing, displaying, or possessing" lies a category of "othe[r] use[s]" for which the Guidelines impose intermediate punishment. It does not by its terms exclude from its scope trading, bludgeoning, or any other use beyond the firearm's "intended purpose."
We are not persuaded that our construction of the phrase "uses . . . a firearm" will produce anomalous applications. See post, at 242 (example of using a gun to scratch one's head). As we already have noted, see supra, at 227-228, and will explain in greater detail later, infra, at 237-239, § 924(c)(1) requires not only that the defendant "use" the firearm, but also that he use it "during and in relation to" the drug trafficking crime. As a result, the defendant who "uses" a firearm to scratch his head, see post, at 242, or for some other innocuous purpose, would avoid punishment for that conduct altogether: Although scratching one's head with a gun might constitute "use," that action cannot support punishment under § 924(c)(1) unless it facilitates or furthers the drug crime; that the firearm served to relieve an itch is not enough. See infra, at 238 (phrase "in relation to" requires, at a minimum, that the use facilitate the crime). Such a defendant would escape the six-point enhancement provided in USSG § 2B3.1(b)(2)(B) as well. As the Guidelines definition of "[o]therwise use[d]" makes clear, see USSG § 1B1.1,
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