Connecticut has some of the nation’s strongest laws to disarm hate.
Access to Guns for People Convicted of Hate Crimes in Connecticut
| Violence with Severe Bodily Injury | Violence with Bodily Injury | Other Crimes Involving Intentional Use of Force | Threats with Deadly Weapons | Other Credible Threats to Physical Safety | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Law | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access |
| State Law | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access | Very limited or no access |
Connecticut’s hate crime statutes make it a felony to perpetrate a crime of “intimidation based on bigotry or bias.” This crime occurs when a person maliciously causes physical injury or contact, or credibly threatens to do so, with intent to intimidate or harass another person because of their actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.1
While Connecticut does not specifically prohibit people from accessing firearms on this basis, the state defines these hate crimes, and most other violent crimes, as felonies, which are generally firearm-prohibiting under both Connecticut and federal law.2
Connecticut also generally prohibits firearm access by people convicted of misdemeanors involving the use of force, violent threats, and the misuse of deadly weapons,3 although the state does not typically make these misdemeanors punishable by a term long enough to trigger federal law’s firearm restrictions.4
As a result, people convicted of violent hate-motivated felonies and misdemeanors are generally prohibited from accessing firearms under Connecticut law, while those convicted of felonies are also prohibited under federal law too. Some violent conduct that is generally classified as a misdemeanor is classified as a felony if it is prosecuted under Connecticut’s “intimidation based on bigotry or bias” hate crime statute.
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- Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 53a-181j; 53a-181k. Connecticut law also makes it a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the circumstances, to deprive a person of legal of constitutional rights on account of protected characteristics, or to intentionally desecrate public property and houses or worship, etc. See Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 46a-58.[↩]
- Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 53a-217. See also, e.g., felony first and second degree assaults, Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 53a-59, 53a-60, 53a-60a.[↩]
- Id. See also, e.g., misdemeanor “assault in the third degree,” Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 53a-61, misdemeanor “threatening in the second degree,” Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 53a-62, “reckless endangerment in the first degree,” Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 53a-63, and “stalking in the second degree,” Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 53a-181d.[↩]
- Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 53a-26.[↩]