As of October 1, 2023, Connecticut has a new safe storage law. Connecticut prohibits any person from storing or keeping a firearm on their premises under their control, unless the firearm is securely locked in a box or other container in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure, or the person carries the firearm on their person or within such close proximity that they can readily retrieve and use it as if it were on their body.¹

If a person violates this safe storage requirement and, as a result, a firearm is used to cause injury or death to themselves or another, the person is criminally liable.² If, as a result of the violation, a person under the age of 18, or a resident who is ineligible to possess firearms or who poses a risk of imminent personal injury to themselves or others, obtains a firearm and uses it to cause injury or death, the person will also be strictly liable for damages in a civil lawsuit.³

Additionally, Connecticut specifically penalizes any parent or guardian of a minor child who fails to make a reasonable effort to remove a firearm from a minor who they know possesses a firearm and is ineligible to do so.⁴

Also effective October 1, 2023, any person, firm or corporation engaging in the sale, other than at wholesale, of any firearm, must equip the firearm with a reusable trigger lock or gun locking device constructed of material sufficiently strong to prevent it from being easily disabled.⁵ The lock must also have a mechanism accessible by key or electronic or mechanical accessory specific to the device to prevent unauthorized removal.⁶ Federal law also applies. Firearm sellers must also provide the purchaser with a written warning stating that unlawful storage of a firearm may result in imprisonment or fine.⁷

MEDIA REQUESTS

Our experts can speak to the full spectrum of gun violence prevention issues. Have a question? Email us at media@giffords.org.

Contact

1. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-37i. Prior to October 1, 2019, this prohibition applied only to loaded guns and for children under the age of 16. In 2019 Connecticut adopted Ethan’s Law, which raised the age to 18 and applied the prohibition to both loaded and unloaded firearms. In 2023, Connecticut further expanded this prohibition, removing the age limitation entirely.[↩]
2. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-217a.[↩]
3. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-571g[↩]
4. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-206f.[↩]
5. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 29-33(d), 29-37b.[↩]
6. Id.[↩]
7. Id.[↩]