Connecticut prohibits any person from knowingly having in a vehicle any firearm for which a proper permit has not been issued.¹ An exception is provided for the possession of unloaded BB guns stored in the trunk or a locked container other than the glove compartment.² 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.³

A person may transport a firearm 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:⁴

• Carrying the firearm 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 firearm 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 firearm 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 firearm to and from a testing range at the request of a handgun permit issuing authority; or

• Transporting an antique handgun.

Handguns that are left in an unattended vehicle must be secured in the trunk, a securely locked safe, or a locked glove box. A vehicle is considered “unattended” if no owner, operator, or passenger is over the age of 21 and either inside the vehicle or “within close enough proximity to the motor vehicle to prevent unauthorized access to the motor vehicle.”⁵

Connecticut also prohibits any person from possessing or carrying in any vehicle or snowmobile any firearm other than a handgun while such firearm 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.⁶

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1. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-38(a).[↩]
2. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-38(b)(4).[↩]
3. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-38d(a), (b) (referring to 18 U.S.C. §§ 926A and 927).[↩]
4. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-35(a).[↩]
5. Public Act No. 19-7 (2019).[↩]
6. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-205(a).[↩]