Gun laws in Connecticut

Gun laws in Connecticut regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the state of Connecticut in the United States. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012, Connecticut passed gun laws in April 2013 that made it amongst the most restrictive in the country. The constitutionality of these new laws are being challenged in both the state and federal courts.

State Constitutional Provisions
Article I,Section 15 of the Constitution of Connecticut states, "Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself [or herself] and the state."

Permitting system
Connecticut issues a Permit to Carry Pistols and Revolvers to both residents and non-residents, which allows both open and concealed carry by the permit-holder. By law, Connecticut is a May-Issue state, but court precedence has established that permits be granted on a Shall-Issue basis for the vast majority of applicants who meet the state's statutory qualifications. State law specifies that the issuing authority must determine the applicant is a "suitable person" before approving the application for a pistol permit, although no such definition exists in state law. However, the state's courts have established that a "suitable person" is one who generally meets all of the statutory criteria to qualify for a state pistol permit. Additionally, unlike other May-Issue states, Connecticut law does not require the applicant to provide a "necessary and proper reason" for obtaining a pistol permit. As such, the state courts have generally ruled that issuing authorities cannot deny an applicant a pistol permit either arbitrarily or for reasons that are unrelated to the applicant's qualifications for obtaining such a permit. This interpretation by the courts does afford the issuing authority some degree of discretion when he or she has personal knowledge of the applicant's character that may not be reflected in any official background check. As of the end of 2012, there were 179,092 active pistol permits in Connecticut. Of the more than 12,000 pistol permit applications received and processed by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) in 2011, only 23 applicants were denied a pistol permit.

Connecticut has a two step permitting process: a 60-day Temporary permit issued by the local police chief, and a Regular 5-year permit issued by the Department of Public Safety Special Licensing and Firearms Unit (SLFU). The Temporary permit, issued by local authorities on a May-Issue basis, is a vestige of the pre-1965 pistol permitting system, when Connecticut permits were issued entirely by local authorities. The rewriting of the Connecticut State Constitution in 1965 intended to consolidate authority to issue pistol permits with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and require permits to be issued on a Shall-Issue basis, but the transition to the uniform statewide permitting system was never fully completed, resulting in the two step permitting system in Connecticut today.

Those desiring a pistol permit in Connecticut must first apply for a temporary permit (valid for 60 days from the date of issuance) from the local police department, or in some locations the town clerk's office, which conducts the background checks and fingerprinting. Temporary permits are issued on a May-Issue basis, and each town is different in its willingness to approve permits; some towns create their own requirements that go well beyond the State requirements (although state law does not require the applicant to fulfill any locally-defined requirements to qualify for a pistol permit). It is typically much more difficult to obtain temporary pistol permits in larger cities, such as Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Other towns will automatically issue a permit as long as the individual does not meet any statutory criteria that would disqualify him or her from holding such a permit; one does not have to travel to remote parts of the state to find towns with permissive permit policies. For example, the city of Shelton, located 12 miles from Bridgeport and 17 miles from New Haven is Shall-Issue in its temporary pistol issuing practice. The town has 8 weeks to approve the temporary permit. If the temporary permit is granted, the applicant must apply to the SLFU for a regular pistol permit (valid for 5 years), which will generally grant the permit unless there is reason specified by law the individual should be denied. These include:


 * Criminal possession of a narcotic substance;
 * Criminally negligent homicide;
 * Assault in the third degree;
 * Reckless endangerment in the first degree;
 * Unlawful restraint in the second degree;
 * Riot in the first degree;
 * Stalking in the second degree;
 * Has not been convicted as a delinquent for the commission of a serious juvenile offense;
 * Has not been discharged from custody within the preceding twenty years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect;
 * Is not subject to a restraining or protective order issued by a court in a case involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person;
 * Is not subject to a firearms seizure order issued for posing a risk of personal injury to self or others after a hearing; or
 * Is not prohibited from possessing a firearm for having been adjudicated as a mentally incompetent under federal law.

When a temporary permit application is denied, the issuing authority must provide a detailed written explanation to the applicant as to why the application was denied. An applicant who is denied a temporary pistol permit from local authorities may appeal to the state Board of Firearms Permit Examiners (BFPE), which will generally grant the appeal and issue a Regular 5-year pistol permit, provided the applicant does not meet the statutory criteria prohibiting him or her from holding such permit. Applicants may appeal an unfavorable ruling by the BFPE through the state courts.

Connecticut residents are issued a "permit to carry pistols and revolvers", which permits both open and concealed carry. Although open carry is not restricted by state law, the BFPE suggests 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.” Residents with permits who carry openly may be cited by police for breach of peace, although state prosecutors usually dismiss such charges after the defendant appears in court and pays applicable court fees.

Connecticut also has a provision in the statute that if a carry permit holder loses a firearm and does not report it, they may lose the permit.

Post-Sandy Hook Gun Control Legislation
On April 1, 2013, Connecticut lawmakers announced a deal on what they called some of the "toughest gun laws in the country." However, Connecticut's gun laws remain more permissive than in neighboring states and California, even after new gun control legislation following the Sandy Hook shooting went into effect. This new legislation included a ban on new high-capacity ammunition magazines, although magazines lawfully owned prior to the ban may be kept. The proposal also called for background checks for private gun sales and a new registry for existing magazines that carry 10 or more bullets. The package also creates what state lawmakers said is the nation's first statewide dangerous weapon offender registry, immediate universal background checks for all firearms sales and expansion of Connecticut's assault weapons ban. On April 3 the State Senate, followed shortly thereafter at midnight, April 4, the State House approved a bipartisan gun control legislation that would be "the toughest in the United States". It was signed into law by Governor Dannel Malloy on April 4. The law makes Connecticut the first state to establish a registry for people convicted of crimes involving dangerous weapons. It also requires background checks for all gun sales, restricts semiautomatic rifles, and limits the capacity of ammunition magazines.

One proposed provision that ultimately did not make it into the final bill would have eliminated the state-level board for approving pistol permit applications and reverted the sole authority for approving or denying pistol permits back to local officials, who would then have wide latitude in adjudicating permit applications by requiring the applicant to show "necessary and proper reason" for a pistol permit. A subsequent compromise included in the law adds a mental health expert to the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners and establishes a process for local authorities to challenge the appeal of any applications denied at the local level.

Reciprocity
Connecticut does not recognize pistol permits from any other state, but residents of other states who hold a concealed weapons permit may apply to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection for a non-resident Connecticut permit through the mail. Nonresident pistol permits are generally granted on a "shall-issue" basis, provided the applicant meets Connecticut's statutory requirements and completes a weapons safety course that satisfies the state's training requirement.

Assault weapons
Connecticut has bans on defined 'assault weapons,' which includes selective fire firearms unless purchased before October 1, 1993, and a limited list of semiautomatic AR, AK, and SKS variants. Magazines holding more than 10 rounds are considered Large Capacity Magazines and are prohibited, with grandfathering for those possessed prior to April 4, 2013 provided they are registered with DESPP by April 1, 2014. On April 4, 2013, Governor Malloy signed a comprehensive gun control bill that expands the scope of the assault weapon ban by reducing the number of defined features from two to one, while adding 100 specific firearms to the existing assault weapons ban list. Such weapons that were lawfully owned prior to the enactment of the law are grandfathered, but must be registered with the DESPP. Exceptions to the ban also exist for law enforcement and military members, but these weapons too must be registered.

Connecticut allows all NFA firearms other than selective fire machine guns; however, guns of this type that existed in Connecticut before the ban are grandfathered. Selective fire means that a machine gun can fire semi or fully automatically. Machine guns that can only fire fully automatically are legal in Connecticut if they were possessed prior to April 4, 2013 and registered on or before January 1, 2014.

Persons moving into Connecticut with assault weapons must--within 90 days or arrival in the state--either surrender the weapons to the State Police or local police, transfer them to a licensed gun dealer or otherwise sell or transfer the weapons to a recipient outside of Connecticut.

Seizure of weapons
Connecticut statutes contain provision that allow law enforcement officials to pre-emptively seize a person's firearms without a warrant or court order, when they have probable cause that the person may either be mentally unstable or intends to use the weapons to commit a crime. The weapons remain in the custody of the law enforcement office that confiscated them until further directed by an appropriate court of law.

Other Laws
Connecticut law requires gun show organizers to obtain a Gun Show Permit from local authorities prior to the start of the event. Gun Show Permits are issued by the Police Chief (or Town Clerk in some locations) on a "May-Issue" basis.

State preemption of local laws
State laws do not explicitly preempt local ordinances, but courts have found intent of preemption in regards to firearm sales, hunting and carrying (openly or concealed) with a state-issued permit. Most municipalities have enacted ordinances to restrict or ban the discharge of firearms within their jurisdictions.