OLR Report 2013-R-0001 summarizes Connecticut gun laws.
The Connecticut Constitution (Article First, § 15) gives every citizen the right to bear arms in defense of himself or herself and the state. For regulatory purposes, state law designates four types of firearms: 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, for sales and transfers, whether they are being conducted by federally licensed gun dealers (FFLs) or by private sellers not required to be licensed.
With few exceptions, (1) anyone acquiring a handgun in Connecticut, whether from a federally licensed gun dealer or private seller, must have an eligibility certificate or a permit to sell or carry handguns and (2) anyone carrying a handgun must have a permit to carry handguns. No permit or certificate is required to possess lawfully acquired handguns in one's home or at one's place of business.
Anyone buying or otherwise acquiring a handgun in Connecticut, including at a gun show, or applying for a gun permit or eligibility certificate must follow prescribed procedures and meet certain statutory criteria. This includes (1) passing state and national criminal history record checks and (2) in the case of a carry permit, being deemed suitable to get a permit by the official issuing the permit. The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) must authorize all handgun transfers, whether by licensed dealers or private sellers. And applicants for a gun permit or eligibility certificate must pass a DESPP-approved course on handgun safety and use.
Certain categories of people may not legally possess handguns or get credentials to carry them. These include (1) convicted felons, (2) illegal aliens, (3) anyone under a court protective or restraining order for using or attempting or threatening to use force against someone, or (4) anyone discharged into the community in the preceding 20 years after being found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect. They also include people who cannot legally possess firearms under federal law because they have been adjudicated as “mental defectives” or been committed to a mental institution, unless their firearm privileges are restored. Federal law contains a court procedure for restoring firearm privileges lost because of a federal commitment or adjudication; state law contains a similar procedure for restoring privileges lost because of a state adjudication or commitment. After the occurrence of any event that makes a person ineligible to continue to possess handguns or the related credentials, he or she must transfer any handguns in his or her possession to an eligible person or surrender them to DESPP.
No permit, certificate, or other credential is required to own, buy, possess, acquire, or carry long guns. But, people buying long guns from licensed gun dealers must follow procedures similar to the handgun procedures and DESPP must authorize the transactions. As is the case of handguns, certain categories of people are barred from possessing long guns, but some people barred from possessing handguns may legally possess long guns. These include people convicted of certain serious misdemeanors.
With limited exceptions, state law bans the sale, use, and possession of assault weapons. People who lawfully owned assault weapons before the ban and duly registered them before October 1, 1994 may continue to possess them subject to certain restrictions. And certain types of assault weapons legally manufactured before September 13, 1994 are exempt from the state transfer and registration requirements. The law also allows possession of certain specified assault weapon models under certain circumstances.
Machine guns are legal if duly registered with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and DESPP. It is illegal to use them for offensive or aggressive purposes, as defined in law, or to transfer them to anyone under age 16.
Gun dealers must be federally licensed and if they sell handguns, they must obtain a local permit to sell them. They must follow specified procedures when selling firearms and meet other criteria in law.
The law, with few exceptions, prohibits carrying firearms at certain locations, such as on school property or in any building where either chamber of the legislature is located or where the legislature is holding a public hearing or meeting.
The law requires people to store loaded firearms in a way that minors under age 16 do not have unauthorized access to them. It prohibits transferring handguns to minors under age 21, except as authorized for temporary use at firing or shooting ranges.
Under limited circumstances and specified procedures, law enforcement officials may get warrants and seize firearms from people posing an imminent risk of harming themselves, someone else, or animals and a court may order the firearms held for up to one year.
Except for banning certain types of .50 caliber ammunition, Connecticut does not regulate ammunition.
In a number of areas, there are related federal laws not discussed in this report.
For more information, read the full report.
