Connecticut Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Licensing of Owners | Yes** | Yes |
Permit to Carry | No | Yes |
Permit to Purchase | Yes* | Yes |
Registration of Firearms | Yes** | No |
* After April 1. 2014 a long gun "eligibility certificate" is required. |
STATE STATUS | |
---|---|
Right To Carry Laws | Discretionary/Reasonable Issue |
Castle Doctrine | Enacted |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Provisions Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Legal |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | None |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Purchase
Prior to April 1, 2014 no sale, delivery, or other transfer of any long gun shall be made until the expiration of two weeks from the date of the application. Current exceptions include federal marshals, parole officers, or peace officers. MORE |
Possession
A person must be twenty-one years of age to possess a handgun. MORE |
Carrying
A permit to carry a pistol or revolver is required to carry a handgun on or about one’s person, either openly or concealed, or in a vehicle. However, the Connecticut Board of Firearms Permit Examiners (which reviews denials and revocations of permits) cautions that "every effort should be made to ensure that no gun is exposed to view or carried in a manner that would tend to alarm people who see it." MORE |
"Assault Weapons"
No person shall possess any "assault weapon" unless that person possessed that firearm before October 1, 1993 and received a certificate of possession from the Connecticut State Police prior to July 1994. The commissioner of public safety shall maintain a file of all certificates of transfer at the central office. MORE |
Preemption
Generally a local government is preempted from regulating a subject matter when a state has demonstrated an intent to occupy the entire field of regulation in that area or when the ordinance at issue irreconcilably conflicts with a state law. Dwyer v. Farrell, 475 A.2d 257, 261 (Conn. 1984). Essentially absent a direct conflict with state law, broad local firearms and ammunitions regulation is possible MORE |
Miscellaneous Provisions
A person must report the loss or theft of any firearm to the local police department within 72 hours of when such person discovered or should have discovered the loss or theft. Any person who fails to make the required report within the required time period shall commit an infraction and be fined not more than $90.00 for a first offense and be guilty of a class D felony for any subsequent offense. A person who violates this law for the first offense does not lose a person's right to hold or obtain any firearm permit. MORE |
Sources: General Statutes of Connecticut, Title 29 et.al. and Title 53, §202, §205, §217.
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