2019 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 53 - Crimes
Chapter 943 - Offenses Against Public Peace and Safety
Section 53-202b - Sale or transfer of assault weapon prohibited. Exemptions. Olympic pistols. Regulations. Class C felony.

(a)(1) Any person who, within this state, distributes, transports or imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives any assault weapon, except as provided by sections 53-202a to 53-202k, inclusive, shall be guilty of a class C felony and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of which two years may not be suspended or reduced by the court.

(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 shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of six years, which shall not be suspended or reduced by the court and shall be in addition and consecutive to the term of imprisonment imposed under subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to:

(1) The sale of assault weapons to: (A) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, police departments, the Department of Correction, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States; (B) a sworn and duly certified member of an organized police department, the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or the Department of Correction, a chief inspector or inspector in the Division of Criminal Justice, a salaried inspector of motor vehicles designated by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, a conservation officer or special conservation officer appointed by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection pursuant to section 26-5, or a constable who is certified by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council and appointed by the chief executive authority of a town, city or borough to perform criminal law enforcement duties, pursuant to a letter on the letterhead of such department, division, commissioner or authority authorizing the purchase and stating that the sworn member, inspector, officer or constable will use the assault weapon in the discharge of official duties, and that a records check indicates that the sworn member, inspector, officer or constable has not been convicted of a crime of family violence, for use by such sworn member, inspector, officer or constable in the discharge of such sworn member's, inspector's, officer's or constable's official duties or when off duty, (C) a member of the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States, or (D) a nuclear facility licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the purpose of providing security services at such facility, or any contractor or subcontractor of such facility for the purpose of providing security services at such facility;

(2) A person who is the executor or administrator of an estate that includes an assault weapon for which a certificate of possession has been issued under section 53-202d which is disposed of as authorized by the Probate Court, if the disposition is otherwise permitted by sections 53-202a to 53-202k, inclusive;

(3) The transfer of an assault weapon for which a certificate of possession has been issued under section 53-202d, by bequest or intestate succession, or, upon the death of a testator or settlor: (A) To a trust, or (B) from a trust to a beneficiary who is eligible to possess the assault weapon;

(4) The sale of a semiautomatic pistol that is defined as an assault weapon in any provision of subparagraphs (B) to (F), inclusive, of subdivision (1) of section 53-202a that the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection designates as being designed expressly for use in target shooting events at the Olympic games sponsored by the International Olympic Committee pursuant to regulations adopted under this subdivision, and for which the purchaser signs a form prescribed by the commissioner and provided by the seller that indicates that the pistol will be used by the purchaser primarily for target shooting practice and events. The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to designate semiautomatic pistols that are defined as assault weapons in any provision of subparagraphs (B) to (F), inclusive, of subdivision (1) of section 53-202a that may be sold pursuant to this subdivision, provided the use of such pistols is sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee and USA Shooting, or any subsequent corresponding governing board for international shooting competition in the United States.

(P.A. 93-306, S. 2; P.A. 11-51, S. 134; P.A. 13-3, S. 26; 13-220, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 11-51, “Department of Public Safety” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection”, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-3 amended Subsec. (b)(1) to insert Subpara. (A) and (B) designators and add “for use in the discharge of their official duties or when off duty” in Subpara. (A) and provision re Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensee and subcontractor providing security services in Subpara. (B), and deleted references to Secs. 29-37j and 53a-46a(h) and made technical changes, effective April 4, 2013; P.A. 13-220 substantially revised Subsec. (b)(1), (2) and (3) re permitted sales and transfers and added Subdiv. (4) re sale of pistols that Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection designates in regulations as designed expressly for use at Olympic games, effective June 18, 2013.

Cited. 234 C. 455; 242 C. 143.