Public Act 13-3 makes extensive changes in the state's gun (firearm) laws. In doing so, it increases the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection's (DESPP) enforcement responsibilities. The major changes pertain to assault weapons, long guns (rifles and shotguns), large capacity magazines (LCMs), and gun crimes.
The act, among other things:
- significantly expands the state's assault weapons ban, adding numerous weapons by name and feature, and requiring anyone who lawfully possessed any of the newly banned weapons before April 4, 2013 to apply to register them by January 1, 2014 to be allowed to keep them (§§ 25-31);
- bans the sale, purchase, or transfer of LCMs that can hold more than 10 bullets but allows anyone in lawful possession of LCMs before January 1, 2014 to keep them if they apply to declare them to DESPP by January 1, 2014 (§ 24);
- mandates the establishment of a DESPP state deadly weapon offender registry, by January 1, 2014, for people convicted of crimes involving deadly weapons or found not guilty of such crimes by reason of mental disease or defect (§§ 18-22);
- requires anyone buying a long gun from an unlicensed person (nondealer) to undergo a national criminal background check, just like anyone buying from a gun dealer (§ 1);
- starting October 1, 2013, requires anyone buying ammunition to have a state-issued gun credential (i.e., handgun permit, gun dealer permit, handgun or long gun eligibility certificate, or ammunition certificate) (§ 14);
- prohibits sale of ammunition or ammunition magazines to anyone under age 18 (§ 14);
- increases the penalty for gun-trafficking, illegal gun possession, and several other gun-related crimes, in some cases increasing, and in others establishing, mandatory minimum prison terms (§§ 42-50, & 52-53);
- prohibits inmates convicted of violent crimes from using earned risk reduction credits to become eligible for parole sooner than they otherwise could (§ 59);
- expands the law banning people from getting gun credentials or possessing firearms on mental health grounds, affecting both voluntary and involuntary commitments (§§ 57-58);
- limits the number of gun permits a person can apply for to one in any 12-month period, and limits application to the town where the applicant has a permanent residence (§ 57);
- expands the ban on the sale or other transfer of armor-piercing bullets (§ 32);
- prohibits people from storing firearms on their premises if they know or should know that someone living there is ineligible to possess firearms under state or federal law, unless they secure it in such a way that the person cannot access them (§§ 54-56);
- adds a retired Superior Court judge and a Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) nominee to the seven-member Board of Firearms Permit Examiners (Firearms Board)( § 60); and
- appropriates $1 million to DESPP for FY 14 to fund the statewide firearms trafficking task force (§ 63).
Some provisions discussed in the summary of this report contain exemptions for certain federal firearm licensees and law enforcement entities and officials. These exemptions are included in the body of the report.
The act makes numerous technical and conforming changes.
