Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Guns in Vehicles in Connecticut.’ Guns in Public. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 19 April
Relevant contents
[Editor's note: The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence regularly updates its webpages with new data as US gun regulation evolves state by state. For the most up-to-date information on US gun laws, please refer to the Giffords URL below]
Guns in Vehicles in Connecticut
Connecticut prohibits any person from knowingly having in a vehicle any firearm for which a proper permit has not been issued. An exception is provided for the possession of unloaded BB guns stored in the trunk or a locked container other than the glove compartment. This prohibition also does not apply to the interstate transportation of firearms through the state in accordance with federal law by any person who is not otherwise prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing a firearm, provided that the firearm is unloaded and neither such firearm nor any ammunition is accessible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
A person may transport a handgun in a motor vehicle without a permit if it is unloaded, not readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle or, in a motor vehicle that does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment if the person is:
- Carrying the handgun in the package in which it was originally wrapped at the time of sale and transporting it from the place of sale to the purchaser's residence or place of business;
- Removing his or her household goods or effects from one place to another;
- Transporting the handgun from his or her place of residence or business to the place where, or individual by whom, it is to be repaired, or while returning to the possessor's place of residence or business after the handgun has been repaired;
- Transporting the handgun in or through the state for the purpose of competitions, formal training, repair or any meeting or exhibition of an organized collectors' group if such person is a United States resident and is permitted to possess and carry a handgun in the state or subdivision of the United States in which such person resides;
- Transporting the handgun to and from a testing range at the request of a handgun permit issuing authority; or
- Transporting an antique handgun.
Connecticut also prohibits any person from possessing or carrying in any vehicle or snowmobile any shotgun, rifle or muzzleloader of any gauge or caliber while such long gun contains any loaded shell or cartridge capable of being discharged in the barrel, chamber or magazine or, for a muzzleloader, when such firearm has a percussion cap in place or when the powder pan of a flintlock contains powder.