OLR Report 2007-R-0369 summary of Connecticut gun laws.
The Connecticut Constitution (Article First, § 15) gives every citizen the right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state. But state law regulates firearm sales, use, and possession.
For regulatory purposes, the law classifies “firearms” into four groups: handguns (pistols and revolvers), long guns (rifles and shotguns), assault weapons, and machine guns. The degree of regulation depends on the type of firearm and, in some cases, the type of transaction (i.e., dealer sales as opposed to secondary or nondealer sales).
With minor exceptions, (1) anyone buying or otherwise acquiring a handgun in Connecticut, whether from a licensed gun dealer or an unlicensed person, must have an eligibility certificate or a permit to sell or carry handguns, and (2) anyone carrying a handgun (except in one's home or business) must have a permit to carry handguns. The credentials allow unlimited gun purchases. No permit or certificate is required to possess handguns in one's home or business.
Permit and certificate applicants must pass state and national criminal history record checks and meet other criteria in law, including, in the case of a carry permit, being deemed suitable to get a permit. Ineligible applicants include convicted felons, illegal aliens, and anyone (1) under age 21; (2) under a court protective or restraining order for using, attempting, or threatening to use force against someone; or (3) discharged into the community in the preceding 20 years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect.
No permit or certificate is required to buy, possess, or carry long guns. But people cannot possess them, if they (1) were ever convicted of a felony or serious juvenile offense, (2) cannot legally possess firearms under federal law because they have been adjudicated as “mental defectives” or have been committed to a mental institution, or (3) know they are under a firearms seizure or restraining or protective order for using or threatening to use violence against someone else. State law sets no minimum age for possessing long guns.
Assault weapons are illegal. People cannot legally buy them or (with one minor exception) bring them into Connecticut. But people who owned assault weapons before October 1, 1993 and registered them with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) before October 1, 1994 can keep them, and dispose of them, under prescribed circumstances.
Machine guns must be registered with DPS within 24 hours after a person acquires them and annually thereafter.
The law regulates (1) handgun sales and transfers by dealers and nondealers and (2) long gun sales and transfers by dealers. It does not regulate secondary sales or transfers of long guns (i.e, nondealer transactions) except to a limited extent at gun shows. Among other things, the law prohibits regulated persons from selling or transferring a covered firearm unless they get a firearm transfer authorization number from DPS, which must conduct a national instant criminal history record check on the buyer to determine if he or she can legally possess firearms.
The law, with exceptions, prohibits carrying (1) firearms on school property, (2) firearms on Connecticut General Assembly property, (3) loaded handguns in a vehicle, and (4) handguns where barred by law or a property owner.
The law imposes criminal penalties on people who (1) store loaded firearms in a way that gives a minor under age 16 unauthorized access to them and (2) transfer handguns to minors under age 21, except as authorized at firing or shooting ranges.
Under limited circumstances and following specified procedures, law enforcement officials may get warrants and seize firearms from anyone posing an imminent risk of harming himself or someone else and a court may order the firearms held for up to one year.
For more information, read the full report.
