Does Connecticut Have an Assault Weapons Ban?

Connecticut General Statutes section 53-202a contains named-model, copy-or-duplicate, and feature-based definitions. Public Act 23-53 added the 2023 assault-weapon category, including additional semiautomatic rifle, pistol, shotgun, and other-firearm configurations.

The certificate provisions use different acquisition dates and filing windows for earlier categories and 2023 assault weapons. Earlier categories required a certificate application by January 1, 2014. A person who lawfully possessed a 2023 assault weapon on June 5, 2023 had to apply by May 1, 2024, subject to the statute's specific exceptions.

The Second Circuit upheld the law on August 22, 2025. On June 30, 2026 the Supreme Court granted review in Grant v. Higgins, consolidated it with Viramontes v. Cook County, a challenge to Cook County's assault-weapons ordinance, on whether the Second Amendment protects AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles, and set argument for December 2, 2026.

There has been no federal assault weapons ban since the 1994 ban expired in 2004; no feature restrictions apply federally to semi-automatic rifles or pistols. The 2023 ATF pistol-brace rule was vacated by the courts and is not enforced, but federal SBR classification for a brace-equipped firearm still turns on whether the specific weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder. Garland v. Cargill (2024) held that a bump stock is not a machine gun under federal law. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.

Federal baseline verified 2026-10-20. Scope: State laws restricting semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns by configuration features: threaded barrels, pistol grips, folding or telescoping stocks, flash suppressors, forward grips, and similar. Magazine capacity limits are tracked as a separate class.