Firearm bills under consideration in CT

  1. HB-5135 AN ACT CONCERNING FINGERPRINT COLLECTION BY MUNICIPAL AND STATE POLICE. — • Bill Status — To prohibit police departments from refusing to fingerprint a person based upon such person's residence.

  2. SB-0554 AN ACT CONCERNING THE REGULATION OF THE SALE OF LONG GUNS. — • Bill Status — To subject long guns to permit requirements and to require a criminal background check of the purchaser of a long gun prior to such purchase.

  3. HB-6029 AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF DEADLY PHYSICAL FORCE IN DEFENSE OF A PERSON. — • Bill Status — To adopt a "Stand Your Ground" law by deleting the requirement that a person retreat before using deadly physical force in certain circumstances to defend himself or herself or a third person.

  4. SB-0358 AN ACT PROHIBITING THE POSSESSION OR FIRING OF ASSAULT WEAPONS OR MACHINE GUNS BY MINORS. — • Bill Status — To prohibit the permanent or temporary transfer of an assault weapon or machine gun to a person under eighteen years of age. - See OLR 2009-R-0027 — [Judiciary Committee Testimony regarding SB-353 and SB-358]
    (2) Any person who transfers, sells or gives any assault weapon to a person under eighteen years of age in violation of subdivision (1) of this subsection, including the temporary transfer of such weapon to such person for use in target shooting or on a firing or shooting range or for any other purpose, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of six years, which shall not be suspended or reduced and shall be in addition and consecutive to the term of imprisonment imposed under subdivision (1) of this subsection.

    *** Committee meeting Friday 27 March — As reported, Joint Favorable Substitute, an amended bill reported favorably by a committee.


  5. SB-0353 AN ACT CONCERNING THE MICROSTAMPING OF SEMIAUTOMATIC PISTOLS. — • Bill Status — To facilitate the linking of used cartridge cases to the firearm that fired them by requiring the microstamping of semiautomatic pistols. See bill 607 below regarding past testimony video. Microstamping failed then. [Judiciary Committee Testimony regarding SB-353 and SB-358]

    (e) On and after January 1, 2011, no person, firm or corporation shall sell, deliver or otherwise transfer any semiautomatic pistol at retail unless such semiautomatic pistol is designed and equipped with a microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model and serial number of the pistol in two or more places on the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol and that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the pistol is fired, provided the Attorney General certifies that the technology used to create the imprint is available to more than one manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions. For the purposes of this subsection, "semiautomatic pistol" means a pistol the operating mode of which uses the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to extract a fired cartridge and chamber a fresh cartridge with each single pull of the trigger.
    This sounds very similar to other bills argued about personalized firearms, only the authorized owner would be able to use/allow the firearm to work by some special coded ring or by fingerprint scan (ie Colt firearms of a few years ago?). NOTE: This means you will not be able to sell your handguns to anyone within CT after January 1, 2011. Much like the CT assualt weapon law.

    Note the wording - '...certifies that the technology used to create the imprint is available to more than one manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions.' We should not be fooled in allowing this even though the technology in not there yet without patent restrictions.

    VIDEO of the Judiciary Committee Public Hearing on Criminal Law and Firearms Bills held on March 16, 2009 at the State Capitol


  6. HB-5578 AN ACT PROHIBITING MUNICIPAL REGULATION OF FIREARMS. — • Bill Status — To prohibit local regulation of firearms.

  7. HB-6457 AN ACT CONCERNING THE REGULATION OF FIREARMS AND THE LICENSING OF BAIL ENFORCEMENT AGENTS, PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN AND SURETY BAIL BOND AGENTS. — • Bill Status — To require gun show promoters to notify the Commissioner of Public Safety of any planned gun show; to mandate annual firearms safety refresher courses for bail enforcement agents, professional bondsmen and surety bail bond agents; to require that certain firearms and criminal justice course instructors be approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety; to provide an exemption to the offenses of selling, carrying or brandishing a facsimile firearm for a participant in a state-certified qualified production; to change the blood alcohol limit for the offense of carrying a firearm while intoxicated to achieve parity with the level for the offense of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated; and to require the concealment of a pistol or revolver when carried upon the person, with certain exemptions. — Current state law does NOT require conceal carry - See OLR 2008-R-0238 question 1 for answer — If bill passes, Be careful about simple exposure getting your wallet. [Public Safety and Security Committee Testimony for HB-06457]

    *** UPDATE: It has been reported that the Committee has voted the bill out of public safety on March 5 2009, and Sections 1, 8, and 9 have been deleted. Section 8 referred to conceal carry. The bill now only address training for bailbondsmen. Vote Tally Sheet


  8. HB-6365 AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATE BUDGET FOR THE BIENNIUM ENDING JUNE 30, 2011, AND MAKING APPROPRIATIONS THEREFOR — • Bill Status — Proposed by the Governor’s office to first place the BOARD OF FIREARMS PERMIT EXAMINERS into the Department of Public Safety, and remove 100% of its funding, then eliminate the board in 2012

  9. SB-839 AN ACT CONCERNING MERGERS AND CONSOLIDATIONS OF VARIOUS STATE AGENCIES. — • Bill Status — Proposed by the Governor’s office to first place the BOARD OF FIREARMS PERMIT EXAMINERS into the Department of Public Safety, and remove 100% of its funding, then eliminate the board in 2012. *** See Section 30 of the bill. For additional information see Ye Connecticut Gun Guild Inc. and Sound clips

    VIDEO of the Government Administration & Elections (GAE) Committee Public Hearing on Government Reorganization Bills held on March 16, 2009 at the State Capitol


  10. SB-728 AN ACT CONCERNING ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR THE COMMISSION OF CRIMES WITH ILLEGAL OR UNREGISTERED FIREARMS. — • Bill Status — To require enhanced criminal sentences for the commission of crimes using illegal or unregistered guns.

    NOTE key word unregistered — does that indicate that all your firearms will need to be registered, including ALL Rifles and Shotguns?

  11. — • Bill Status —

Committees

  1. Public Safety and Security Committee
  2. Judiciary Committee
  3. Appropriations Committee
  4. Government Administration and Elections

Board of Firearms Permit Examiners

  1. The Board of Firearm Permit Examiners is recommended for consolidation with the Department of Public Safety in the Governor’s budget as part of her proposal to streamline state government. — See page 6 — The Board of Firearms Permit Examiners was created as the Board of Permit Examiners by Public Act No. 633 of the 1967 General Assembly.
  2. AN ACT CONCERNING REVIEW AND TERMINATION OF CERTAIN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. "Bill to terminate BFPE" — • Bill Status — See line 221 through 225 for termination.

Past bills and other info

  1. Bill 607 - AN ACT CONCERNING THE IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN FIREARMS AND THE CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF FIREARMS. — • Bill Status — To facilitate the linking of used cartridge cases to the firearm that fired them by requiring the microstamping of semiautomatic pistols and to make all the disqualifiers for the possession of a handgun applicable to the possession of a long gun.
  2. VIDEO of the Judiciary Committe Hearings held on March 17, 2008 at the State Capitol on the "Microstamping" and "Coding of Ammuntion Bills" A very good video of testimony including members of the firearms industry and Police Forenics — testimony is at 1:11:49 (time on counter). You can fast foward to the time by moving thecapsule in the center and then fast fowarding or rewinding. Carolton Chen a VP at Colt gives testimony at 7:46:39
  3. 2007 House Bill No. 6992 (Public Act No. 07-214) - AN ACT CONCERNING REAL ESTATE LICENSURE AND MAINTENANCE OF LISTS OF PRIVATE HUNTING GROUNDS BY TOWN CLERKS. — • Bill Status — Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) With respect to a contract for the sale of a one-to-four family residential real property, if the seller provides written notice to the purchaser, prior to, or upon, entering into the contract, that a list of local properties upon which hunting or shooting sports regularly take place may be available at the office of the town clerk, the seller and any real estate licensee shall be deemed to have fully satisfied any duty to disclose the presence of local properties upon which hunting or shooting sports regularly take place, even if (1) the list is not available at the office of the town clerk, or (2) there is an error, omission or inaccuracy in the list.

  4. OLR 2007-R-0211 — OLR report on LOST OR STOLEN FIREARMS, 10 May 2007
  5. OLR 2007-R-0335 — OLR report on LOST OR STOLEN FIREARM LEGISLATION AND VIOLENT CRIME STATISTICS, 7 May 2007
  6. OLR 2007-R-0369 — OLR report on SUMMARY OF STATE GUN LAWS, 21 May 2007

Senate & Rep District Maps, and other info

  1. CT Senator Districts Map
  2. CT Representatives Districts Map
  3. Federal Court Districts Map

Federal Bills — Write or email CT Senators

  1. H.R. 197 National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009
  2. S.371 Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009
  3. H.R. 45 Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - NOTE: Total Registration including the old M1 Garand — Much like a FFL renewable every five years. Do not renew, loss your collection. — GPO pdf of HR-45
  4. H.R. 17 Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2009

States

  1. Freedom in the 50 states — Connecticut ranks a low 41 on freedom
  2. New Hampshire Secession Resolution HCR 6 — NOTE part of the resolution "VI. Further infringements on the right to keep and bear arms including prohibitions of type or quantity of arms or ammunition;"