Connecticut - Land of the Free??!!?? A real alternative to NH??

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dcmdon

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Connecticut, an alternative to NH??
My family recently had a scare. We were considering moving from CT to MA for career reasons. My wife works in the Life Sciences world and I'm in IT. So it made sense.

Well, it didn't happen. But let me tell you, CT is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than MA for a gun owner.
I'm mentioning this because often when people are fed up with living in MA, people chime in suggesting they move to NH.

Well, not everyone wants to live in NH, and CT is a real alternative. Below I will detail why.

1) CT is effectively a "shall issue" state. While the local PD can delay an application for a pistol permit, the permit always ends up being issued, provided the applicant is not a prohibited person. This is because we have a way to escalate above the local issuing authority. Its called the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners. They are an EXCEEDINGLY fair and even handed group. Remember that name, the BFPE is a key player in CT gun rights.

2) only one level of pistol permit - you get a "Permit to carry pistols and revolvers". It allows you to carry pretty much anything anywhere anytime other than schools. (Colleges are ok) There are no limitations on magazine capacity. There are no "range permits".

3) No FID. You can buy long guns without passing any kind of test. If you don't have a pistol permit or a hunting license, there is a waiting period. But the bottom line is that you don't have to get any special kind of card to buy a long gun.

4) Only firearms are regulated. No FID required to buy ammo, components, pepper spray, etc.

5) Mail order ammo

6) No "approved guns". Forget about $750 glocks because some guy has a model that isn't approved for sale in MA and has 3 guys bidding against each other.

7) You can have a FFL out of your home

8) You can have silencers (no state regs on them at all).

9) You can have machine guns without asking permission. You do need to register a MG, but you aren't asking permission. You are giving notice.

10) which reminds me - no gun registration. Other than MGs

11) No King Chief Law Enforcement Officer who has the power to
a. yank your pistol permit with no recourse. (Remember that BFPE)
b. determine if you can own a MG
c. No "suitability crap" which leads me to :

12) Open Carry - just like MA, there is no law explicitly saying you need to conceal. BUT - nobody has ever lost their permit in CT for OCing. Guess why?? Its that BFPE thorn in the DPS side again.

13) No mag capacity limits. No "high capacity" crap.

14) You aren't a felon if you do nothing . . Lets say you move to MA with all your guns. There's a whole bunch of crap you need to do to just keep them in your home. In CT, you can move here and keep anything without any registration, permits, nothing. (with the exception of a MG which needs to be registered and you need to make sure your rifles are compliant with our AWB, if not you can bring them in and have 90 days to sell them out of state.)


So there you have it. Get your pistol permit and you can buy long guns instantly from a dealer and with nothing more than a bill of sale from a private party. You can carry your long gun or hand gun pretty much anywhere (other than on the grounds of a primary or secondary school or wherever the state legislature is meeting).

If you have no permit of any kind you can literally drive down the road with an AR15 across your lap and a loaded mag in your hand. You are legal right until you put that mag in the gun.
At which point you are a felon. About the only law regarding long guns is that they can't be loaded in a motor vehicle. CT defines loaded as having rounds in a magazine AND the magazine is in the gun or having a round in the chamber.


Now the down side; we have an assault weapon ban. Its a pain in the ass. But there are legal ways around almost any limitation it imposes. I'm not going to get into details now, here it is for the most affected items:

a. ARs - new guns can't have threaded bbl or flash suppressor. Stock can't fold or telescope. Can't have bayonet lug. The way around this is to buy a pre-ban (94) non-Colt lower receiver. you will pay about a $400 premium for this receiver, but you will be able to build the gun any way you want. Or if you are happy with an A2 stocked AR with a muzzle brake, then just go post ban.

b. AKs - Same rules re brakes, folders and lugs as ARs. Our AWB says "Avtomat Kalashnikov AK-47 type". Case law has since made the determination that as long as its not in 7.62x39, its legal. So you have 2 choices. Buy a pre-ban chinese AK in .223 with all the evil features, or buy a post ban AK in anything other than 7.62x39.

Remember, that magazines are completely UNREGULATED. So a post ban gun can have a normal capacity mag.

Another thing. The state law has a specific carve out for FFLs. So get your FFL and be exempt.

Thats it. This was pretty long winded, but I hope it helps people out. I will edit and add to this original post as I come oup with additional points.

Final final summary - Get your pistol permit and you can buy pretty much whatever you want and carry pretty much wherever you want.
Don't get your pistol permit and you can pretty much do nothing with a handgun, but do whatever you want with a long gun, ammo, pepper spray, etc.

Don
 
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I do love the gun laws here. But because of them I bought a Pre ban AR so I can have the "evil" features, no other complaints
 
Connecticut, an alternative to NH??

Well, not really, but it is certainly true that moving from CT to MA would be taking a huge step downward in rights.

I disagree that it's an alternative to NH, though. CT is still 5 out of 10 communist stars where MA is like 9 out of 10. (The only ones worse being NY/NJ/DC/CA/IL) NH is like one star, and that's only because of the fact that permit-less carry hasn't passed yet because of a bunch of a**h***s from the NRA f**king up legislative process. If NH goes permit-less, it will easily be within top 5 best states in the nation for gun rights.

If CT didn't require a license for handguns for "mere ownership" it would be a lot better. The AWB is best described as "byzantine empire" and the select fire ban on MGs is pure concentrated 110% gayness.

Having no suitability, legal suppressors for all, and no stupid mag bans are all huge pluses, though.

-Mike
 
How is CT's recent retroactive income tax increase treating you? CT gun laws are better but all of NE is overrun with nanny statism and public debt.
 
Compared to MA. and a couple other states is the only way CT laws look good. In a state like New Hampshire, you just go buy an AR, or an AK in the regular caliber, or a handgun, or a hunting rifle. No permits, no workarounds and hassles.
 
Well I would agree that CT may be a breath of firearm freedom compared to MA...

What's the CT sales tax? The only one in NH is on meals and hotel rooms...

What's the CT income tax rate? There is none in NH (used to be none in CT)...

if you need to be South it's a better alternative, but still...
 
Well, not really, but it is certainly true that moving from CT to MA would be taking a huge step downward in rights.

I disagree that it's an alternative to NH, though. CT is still 5 out of 10 communist stars where MA is like 9 out of 10. (The only ones worse being NY/NJ/DC/CA/IL) NH is like one star, and that's only because of the fact that permit-less carry hasn't passed yet because of a bunch of a**h***s from the NRA f**king up legislative process. If NH goes permit-less, it will easily be within top 5 best states in the nation for gun rights.

If CT didn't require a license for handguns for "mere ownership" it would be a lot better. The AWB is best described as "byzantine empire" and the select fire ban on MGs is pure concentrated 110% gayness.

Having no suitability, legal suppressors for all, and no stupid mag bans are all huge pluses, though.

-Mike

Just to clarify the who sucks more portion of your post MA is actually worse than NY on gun laws as odd as that may sound. NY has no restrictions on owning hunting rifles/shotguns and pistol permits I believe are 1 tier either you get it or you don't. It's still a "may issue" and every pistol needs to be added to the license and they have an AWB as well. So while it's a close race I can buy ammo and own a long arm in NY without being locked up, I do not have the same ability in MA.
 
Just to clarify the who sucks more portion of your post MA is actually worse than NY on gun laws as odd as that may sound. NY has no restrictions on owning hunting rifles/shotguns and pistol permits I believe are 1 tier either you get it or you don't. It's still a "may issue" and every pistol needs to be added to the license and they have an AWB as well. So while it's a close race I can buy ammo and own a long arm in NY without being locked up, I do not have the same ability in MA.

NY is 10000000 times worse for Handguns. That's the real problem. There are ABSOLUTELY NO non-resident licenses for handguns in NY like you can obtain in MA. At least in MA you can jump through the flaming hoop with CHSB/CJIS and get a permit annually. No such option in NY at all. NY's competition exemption for handguns is also far worse than MA's is. The matches have to be NRA sanctioned. In MA anyone can create a firearms competition. Like if some club was having a bowling pin shoot in MA, an NH resident could bring down his or her 1911. You can forget about doing that in NY, unless the NRA has a way of sanctioning those types of matches?

Getting a pistol license in NY is also considerably more complicated. The issuing authority is a judge, IIRC. There are less opportunities to game the piss out of the system than there are in MA.

In NY handguns also CANNOT BE SHARED for carry purposes, even among holders of licenses. So if you want to loan your wife a carry pistol, forget about it- she can't legally carry it if it's not on her permit. In MA, anyone with the appropriate license can possess and carry anything that license grants them privs for- regardless of who owns the gun.

I'm not 100% sure on this, but last I knew NY state had COMPULSORY registration for handguns. MA almost has a system like that, however it is NOT A CRIME in MA to have a handgun which is not on record with the state.

That makes the whole "you can buy fudd guns in NY" thing kind of moot. That's not really a big deal, considering that MA residents can get shall issue cards (FID) to buy fudd guns and ammo if that's all they want to do. Even the worst PD's in MA will issue you an FID card. (They basically have to by law unless you are statutorily disqualified).

-Mike
 
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NY is 10000000 times worse for Handguns. That's the real problem. There are ABSOLUTELY NO non-resident licenses for handguns in NY like you can obtain in MA. At least in MA you can jump through the flaming hoop with CHSB/CJIS and get a permit annually. No such option in NY at all. NY's competition exemption for handguns is also far worse than MA's is. The matches have to be NRA sanctioned. In MA anyone can create a firearms competition. Like if some club was having a bowling pin shoot in MA, an NH resident could bring down his or her 1911. You can forget about doing that in NY, unless the NRA has a way of sanctioning those types of matches?

Getting a pistol license in NY is also considerably more complicated. The issuing authority is a judge, IIRC. There are less opportunities to game the piss out of the system than there are in MA.

In NY handguns also CANNOT BE SHARED for carry purposes, even among holders of licenses. So if you want to loan your wife a carry pistol, forget about it- she can't legally carry it if it's not on her permit. In MA, anyone with the appropriate license can possess and carry anything that license grants them privs for- regardless of who owns the gun.

I'm not 100% sure on this, but last I knew NY state had COMPULSORY registration for handguns. MA almost has a system like that, however it is NOT A CRIME in MA to have a handgun which is not on record with the state.

That makes the whole "you can buy fudd guns in NY" thing kind of moot. That's not really a big deal, considering that MA residents can get shall issue cards (FID) to buy fudd guns and ammo if that's all they want to do. Even the worst PD's in MA will issue you an FID card. (They basically have to by law unless you are statutorily disqualified).

-Mike

Fair enough, never looked into the competition/non-res stuff, I looked into the res stuff when I lived there but that was it. I suppose it's all a matter of what direction you're looking at it from, I can bring my "fudd guns" to my in-laws and shoot legally where I can't do that in MA without immediately becoming a felon. If I shot competitions or needed a carry permit for business etc. I'd probably have more of an issue with NY than MA.
 
I'm not in any way saying that CT is ideal. The comparison to NH was tongue in cheek.

My point was that CT IS a far more free state than MA and often you can live here and still work in MA.

Most MA people think that the only way to gain gun rights is to move to VT or NH. I'm simply reminding this community that CT is FAR more free than MA.

And while I again agree that CT is definitely not ideal, I can have any gun I want and carry it anywhere I want. Thats not half bad for the populous states in the Northeast.
In fact, I'd say its better than every state in the Northeast other than NH and VT.

Don
 
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Well I would agree that CT may be a breath of firearm freedom compared to MA...

What's the CT sales tax? The only one in NH is on meals and hotel rooms...

What's the CT income tax rate? There is none in NH (used to be none in CT)...

if you need to be South it's a better alternative, but still...

How are the property taxes in NH???
 
How are the property taxes in NH???

Surprisingly not too bad. The rates are high, but the overall numbers don't compare too badly (at least for the northeast).

I pay ~$5k for a 1900 sq ft house on 2 acres with garage and outbuilding.

How much would I be taxed on a comparable property in eastern MA or CT?
 
Nope, not free. Connecticut - Land of the Less Oppressed.

I can agree with this. I'm to NH as soon as I can get outta here (read, break even on my house after the several foreclosures surrounding me).

And our retroactive income tax sucks big donkey balls. My wife and I are now paying a crap load more per week to not end up owing next year. It's bullshit.

That said my Pmags and I are still glad we don't live in MA.
 
Your pretty much screwed in terms of "freeness" in southern NE. The alternatives to NH are ME and VT. other than that you gotta look down south or west but not too far west for free states.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk
 
How are the property taxes in NH???

Very reasonable, all things being considered.

When I lived in Salem MA I paid around $3K in taxes on my condo.

I also paid around $7K per year in state income taxes.

Taxes on my current house in NH are $4200 per year but I get a $400 veterans credit so I pay $3800. The house is ~2000 sq. ft., 3BR, 2BA, 2.5 acres, borders a 130 acre town forest.

Because I work in NH, I no longer pay the $7K in state income taxes.

My overall tax burden has gone from around $10K per year to $3800 per year.

I also don't have to take it in the shorts every time I buy something as NH has no sales tax.

Net-net, NH kicks ass.
 
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This thread reminds me of that snokie fella trying to convince the board that NJ was better then MA.
 
Interesting comparison. Which is freer: Long arms with no permitting whatsoever, or better Handgun ccw laws w/flaming hoops? Personally I think we would be better off with long arms for all. Total number of gunowners would go up. People could protect themselves at home. The percentage of gunowners that daily ccw is probably low. For myself when I've lived where I could ccw I rarely did, but always had a gun somewhat handy at home. Clarity disclaimer- I don't agree with any of the laws and think ccw should not require a permit.
 
Nope, not free. Connecticut - Land of the Less Oppressed.

I like this. Although I'd say MUCH MUCH less oppressed.

We still need to worry about our State's government. But to date, they haven't passed anything that makes a gun owner's life that difficult.

One significant thing about CT is that if you move here with all your guns and choose to do nothing. You don't become a felon by your inactivity.
 
Interesting comparison. Which is freer: Long arms with no permitting whatsoever, or better Handgun ccw laws w/flaming hoops? Personally I think we would be better off with long arms for all. Total number of gunowners would go up. People could protect themselves at home. The percentage of gunowners that daily ccw is probably low. For myself when I've lived where I could ccw I rarely did, but always had a gun somewhat handy at home. Clarity disclaimer- I don't agree with any of the laws and think ccw should not require a permit.

I'm not sure what you are getting at. While I also agree that there should not be any permits required to carry a handgun (try to get out of using the term CCW. Not everyone conceals, especially in CT), CT meets both of those criteria.

No flaming hoops for a pistol permit
Long arms with no permiting

Don
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't AKs in 7.62x39 (among other things, like FALs and HK91s) not legal in CT at all? There may be some things about it that are more appealing than MA, but that's a major deal-breaker for me right there.
 
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