Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 529 - Division of State Police
Section 29-37p. - *(See end of section for amended version of subsection (b) and effective date.) Long gun eligibility certificate. Disqualifiers.

(a) Any person who is eighteen years of age or older may apply to the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection for a long gun eligibility certificate.

*(b) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall issue a long gun eligibility certificate unless said commissioner finds that the applicant: (1) Has failed to successfully complete a course approved by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection in the safety and use of firearms including, but not limited to, a safety or training course in the use of firearms available to the public offered by a law enforcement agency, a private or public educational institution or a firearms training school, utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a safety or training course in the use of firearms conducted by an instructor certified by the state or the National Rifle Association; (2) has been convicted of (A) a felony, or (B) on or after October 1, 1994, a violation of section 21a-279 or section 53a-58, 53a-61, 53a-61a, 53a-62, 53a-63, 53a-96, 53a-175, 53a-176, 53a-178 or 53a-181d; (3) has been convicted as delinquent for the commission of a serious juvenile offense, as defined in section 46b-120; (4) has been discharged from custody within the preceding twenty years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to section 53a-13; (5) has been confined in a hospital for persons with psychiatric disabilities, as defined in section 17a-495, within the preceding sixty months by order of a probate court; (6) has been voluntarily admitted to a hospital for persons with psychiatric disabilities, as defined in section 17a-495, within the preceding six months for care and treatment of a psychiatric disability and not solely for being an alcohol-dependent person or a drug-dependent person as those terms are defined in section 17a-680; (7) is subject to a restraining or protective order issued by a court in a case involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, including an ex parte order issued pursuant to section 46b-15 or 46b-16a; (8) is subject to a firearms seizure order issued pursuant to subsection (d) of section 29-38c after notice and hearing; (9) is prohibited from shipping, transporting, possessing or receiving a firearm pursuant to 18 USC 922(g)(4); or (10) is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States.
(P.A. 13-3, S. 2; 13-220, S. 15; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-2, S. 5; P.A. 16-34, S. 10.)
*Note: On and after June 1, 2022, subsection (b) of this section, as amended by section 5 of public act 21-67, is to read as follows:
“(b) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall issue a long gun eligibility certificate unless said commissioner finds that the applicant: (1) Has failed to successfully complete a course approved by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection in the safety and use of firearms including, but not limited to, a safety or training course in the use of firearms available to the public offered by a law enforcement agency, a private or public educational institution or a firearms training school, utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a safety or training course in the use of firearms conducted by an instructor certified by the state or the National Rifle Association; (2) has been convicted of (A) a felony, (B) a misdemeanor violation of section 21a-279 on or after October 1, 2015, or (C) a misdemeanor violation of section 53a-58, 53a-61, 53a-61a, 53a-62, 53a-63, 53a-96, 53a-175, 53a-176, 53a-178 or 53a-181d during the preceding twenty years; (3) has been convicted as delinquent for the commission of a serious juvenile offense, as defined in section 46b-120; (4) has been discharged from custody within the preceding twenty years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to section 53a-13; (5) has been confined in a hospital for persons with psychiatric disabilities, as defined in section 17a-495, within the preceding sixty months by order of a probate court; (6) has been voluntarily admitted to a hospital for persons with psychiatric disabilities, as defined in section 17a-495, within the preceding six months for care and treatment of a psychiatric disability and not solely for being an alcohol-dependent person or a drug-dependent person as those terms are defined in section 17a-680; (7) is subject to a restraining or protective order issued by a court in a case involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, including an ex parte order issued pursuant to section 46b-15 or 46b-16a; (8) is subject to a firearms seizure order issued prior to June 1, 2022, pursuant to section 29-38c after notice and hearing, or a risk protection order or risk protection investigation order issued on or after June 1, 2022, pursuant to section 29-38c; (9) is prohibited from shipping, transporting, possessing or receiving a firearm pursuant to 18 USC 922(g)(4); or (10) is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States.”
(P.A. 13-3, S. 2; 13-220, S. 15; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-2, S. 5; P.A. 16-34, S. 10; P.A. 21-67, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 13-3 effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-220 amended Subsec. (b)(2)(B) to limit disqualifying violations to those committed on or after October 1, 1994, effective July 1, 2013; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-2 amended Subsec. (b)(2)(B) to replace reference to Sec. 21a-279(c) with reference to Sec. 21a-279; P.A. 16-34 amended Subsec. (b)(7) by adding “, including an ex parte order issued pursuant to section 46b-15 or 46b-16a”; P.A. 21-67 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by replacing “or (B) on or after October 1, 1994, a violation of section 21a-279 or” with “(B) a misdemeanor violation of section 21a-279 on or after October 1, 2015, or (C) a misdemeanor violation of” and adding “during the preceding twenty years” at the end of newly designated Subpara. (C) and amended Subsec. (b)(7) by adding reference to June 1, 2022, and language re a risk protection order or investigation and making a technical change, effective June 1, 2022.

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