dcmdon
NES Member
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
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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