Trigger Lock Requirement for Firearms Sales

Through Public Act 23-53 (Substitute House Bill 6667), An Act Addressing Gun Violence, enacted in 2023, Connecticut expanded its requirements for safety devices that must accompany firearms sold at retail. These provisions, codified in CGS 29-37b, require retailers to equip each firearm sold with a reusable trigger lock, gun lock or gun locking device.^[1]

Trigger Lock Requirement

Connecticut General Statutes Section 29-37b requires that any person, firm, or corporation engaging in the retail sale of firearms must, at the time of sale, equip each firearm sold with a reusable trigger lock, gun lock, or gun locking device appropriate for such firearm.^[2] The device must meet two standards:

• It must be constructed of material sufficiently strong to prevent it from being easily disabled.
• It must have a locking mechanism accessible by key, or by an electronic or other mechanical accessory specific to the device, to prevent unauthorized removal.

From the 1998 amendment until the 2023 expansion, this requirement applied only to the retail sale of pistols and revolvers. HB 6667 expanded the trigger lock mandate to cover all firearms sold at retail, including rifles and shotguns.^[3]

Written Warning Requirement

In addition to providing the physical locking device, retailers must provide the purchaser with a written warning at the time of sale. The written warning must state, in block letters not less than one inch in height, "UNLAWFUL STORAGE OF A LOADED FIREARM MAY RESULT IN IMPRISONMENT OR FINE."^[2]

Penalties for Retailers

A retail firearms dealer who fails to provide the required trigger lock or written warning with a firearm sale shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars for each violation under CGS 29-37b(c). Failing to provide the lock or furnish the written warning also breaches the duties of a holder of a permit to sell firearms at retail under CGS 29-28b(a). If the violation is not cured by the date in a notice of violation, the commissioner or the local permitting authority may issue a stop sales order and assess a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars per day during which the violation continues.^[2]

Practical Implications

A trigger lock may not by itself satisfy CGS 29-37i, which allows a securely locked box or other container, storage in a manner a reasonable person would believe secure, or carrying on the person or close enough for ready retrieval and use. Gun owners can meet CGS 29-37i by keeping the firearm in a securely locked box or other container.^[4]