Know the Laws: Connecticut
UPDATED September 17, 2012
Please consider getting in touch with a domestic violence advocate in your community for more information on gun laws in your area. To find help, please click on the Where to Find Help tab at the top of this page.
- Basic Info
- Guns and DVPOs
- I have a restraining order against my abuser. Can s/he keep a gun or buy a new gun?
- If my abuser is not an "intimate partner" according to the Federal definition, can my abuser's gun still be taken away when I get a Restraining Order?
- Is there anything I can do to make it more likely that my abuser's gun is taken away when I get a Restraining Order?
- My abuser did not show up for the RO hearing. Can his gun still be taken away?
- I have a temporary (ex parte) restraining order against my abuser. Do I have to wait until I receive a permanent restraining order before my abuser's gun is taken away?
- Guns and Criminal Convictions
- More Information and Where to Get Help
Guns and DVPOs
back to topI have a restraining order against my abuser. Can s/he keep a gun or buy a new gun?
No. According to CT state and Federal law, if you have a RO that was issued by a court in CT or any other state or tribal civil court against your abuser and meets Federal law requirements, your abuser cannot have a gun in his possession, or buy a new gun.”*
In order for your Restraining order to qualify under Federal law, the defendant ( person who the order is against) must:
- Be served (given) notice of the court hearing. In other words, the defendant must have been given paperwork that told him or her about the hearing.
- Have an opportunity to attend the court hearing.
Note: The abuser does not have to be at the hearing, but s/he has to have the opportunity to come to the hearing. - Be an "intimate partner" of the victim, which includes:
- A current or former spouse
- A person with whom you share a child
- A person you live with or have lived with in the past**
- Connecticut State law also includes:
- a person with whom you have, or recently have, a dating relationship
- your child
- your parent
- a person over 18 related to you by blood or marriage
- a person over 16 with whom you reside with currently or in the past
- a caretaker who is providing shelter in his or her residence to a person 60 years of age or older***
Note: If your Restraining order has expired, it is no longer a valid order under Federal law, which means the firearm ban also does not apply. Your restraining order will expire six months after the date it was issued, unless the judge says otherwise.
Note: This law may not apply to law enforcement officials, military personnel, and other government employees who use guns while performing official duties.****
If your abuser is a police officer, member of the military, or someone else who uses a gun for their job, talk to your local domestic violence program about your options. To find a shelter or an advocate at a local program, please visit the CT State and Local Programs page under the Where to Find Help tab at the top of this page.
*18 USC § 922 (g)(8); C.G.S.A. § 53a-217
**18 USC 921 (a)(32)
*** C.G.S.A. § 46b-38a(2)
****18 USC Sec. 925 (a)(1)
back to topIf my abuser is not an "intimate partner" according to the Federal definition, can my abuser's gun still be taken away when I get a Restraining Order?
Yes. If your abuser is not an "intimate partner" according to the Federal definition, it will still be a crime under CT state law for your abuser to have or buy a gun while your CT restraining order is in effect.*
* C.G.S.A. § 53a-217
back to topIs there anything I can do to make it more likely that my abuser's gun is taken away when I get a Restraining Order?
Connecticut state law says specifically that a person who has a restraining order against them cannot have or buy a gun.* This should be written on the Restraining Order that you receive from the court. Still, there are steps you can take to help make it clear to both the judge hearing your case and law enforcement officers that you need this law enforced for your safety:
- When you are filing out your petition for a restraining order, at the bottom of the page there are two questions regarding your abusers gun.** If your abuser has a gun, tell the judge how many guns he has, and if he has ever threatened you with a gun(s).
- Ask the judge to specifically write in your Restraining order that your abuser cannot buy or have a gun while the order is in effect.
- Before leaving the courthouse, check to make sure that the gun restriction is written on your order.
It also may be helpful if the judge explains what will happen to the abuser's guns, who will take them, and where they will be held once you leave the courthouse. If the judge agrees to add language that your abuser cannot keep his guns while the Restraining order is in effect, you may also want to ask that the judge:
- Require the abuser to give his guns to the police, or require the police to go to the abuser's house and get them.
- Make it clear to both you and the abuser how long the guns will be kept away from your abuser.
* C.G.S.A. § 29-36k; C.G.S.A. § 53a-217
** JD-FM-137 “Application for Relief from Abuse”
back to topMy abuser did not show up for the RO hearing. Can his gun still be taken away?
Maybe. Your abuser does not have to come to the hearing in order for the law to apply to him, but he does have to be given notice of the hearing and an opportunity to attend.*
If no hearing is scheduled, and/or no notice is given about the RO order, then the federal firearm law might not apply to your abuser.**
* United States v. Bunnell 106 F. Supp. 2d 60 (D. Me. 2000), aff'd 280 F. 3d 46 (1st Cir. 2002.)
** United States v. Spruill 292 F. 3d 207 (5th Cir. 2002.)
back to topI have a temporary (ex parte) restraining order against my abuser. Do I have to wait until I receive a permanent restraining order before my abuser's gun is taken away?
Maybe. You can ask the Judge to write in your temporary order that your abuser cannot have a gun while you are waiting for a full court hearing. If the judge sees your abuser's firearm as a serious enough threat, the judge might decide to write this in.
However, if there is no specific mention of a firearm restriction in the temporary order, then you may have to wait until you are given a permanent order.