OLR Report 2012-R-0362 summarizes state legislation since 1993 pertaining to assault weapons.
In 1993, the legislature prohibited possessing, selling, or transporting assault weapons, with limited exceptions. The 1993 act (PA 93-306) also gave those who lawfully possessed an assault weapon before October 1, 1993, nine months to apply for a certificate of possession to continue to possess the weapon. The act made a number of other changes regarding assault weapons.
Since 1993, only five acts have addressed assault weapons.
- A 1994 act extended the deadline for those who lawfully possessed an assault weapon before October 1, 1993 to apply for a certificate of possession.
- A 1998 act established a mechanism for the Department of Public Safety (now the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection) to exchange information with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services about people committed to psychiatric hospitals who also have permits to sell or carry handguns, handgun eligibility certificates, or certificates to possess assault weapons.
- A 2001 act expanded the definition of assault weapons.
- A 2002 act exempted possession of certain types of assault weapons from the ban.
- A 2007 act required the lawful owner of an assault weapon to report its loss to police in the same way the law already required him or her to report its theft. The act also added penalties for failing to report a weapon's loss or theft.
