Community Corner

Is There a Loophole in the New Connecticut Gun Law?

A Connecticut gun-rights group says it may be possible for certain weapons manufactured before 1994 to be purchased legally, despite the tough new regulations passed after the Sandy Hook shooting.

A Connecticut gun-rights group says it has found a loophole in the state's new firearms legislation that would allow the purchase of assault weapons if they were manufactured prior to 1994.

Connecticut Citizen's Defense League president Scott Wilson told Fox 61 Thursday the state law overlooks "pre-existing, pre-ban types of rifles that were grandfathered in prior to the 1994 assault weapon ban."

According to the Fox report, guns built before the federal 1994 assault-weapons ban became legal to sell again in 2004 when the ban expired, and the legislature may have forgotten to explicitly address some of those weapons in the new law.

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The report says an analysis by the Connecticut Office of Legislative Research, reading in part, "Certain assault weapons defined by criteria, rather than specific name, are exempt from the state transfer restrictions and registration requirements if they were  legally manufactured before Sept. 13, 1994.”

Read the full report at FoxCT.com.

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