State Gun Laws

It is illegal under Connecticut state law for a person to possess (have) a firearm or ammunition and s/he can be denied a certificate to carry a revolver or pistol if:

1. s/he has been convicted of a felony;
2. s/he has been convicted of illegal possession of a controlled substance on or after October 1, 2015;
3. s/he has been convicted of any of the following misdemeanors within the past 20 years:
   • criminally negligent homicide;
   • assault in the 3^rd degree;
   • assault of an elderly, blind, disabled or pregnant person or a person with intellectual disability;
   • threatening in the second degree;
   • reckless endangerment in the first degree;
   • unlawful restraint in the second degree;
   • riot in the first degree;
   • riot in the second degree;
   • inciting to riot;
   • stalking in the second degree;
4. s/he has been convicted as delinquent for a “serious juvenile offense;” or
5. s/he has been discharged from custody within the past 20 years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect.¹

Also, under federal laws, which apply to all states, it is illegal to possess a firearm if a person was convicted of a felony or a domestic violence misdemeanor. Go to the Federal Gun Laws page to get more information.

¹ C.G.S.A. §§ 53a-217(a); 29-36f