You asked for the legislative history of the phrase “or federal law enforcement agent” contained in CGS § 29-35 and whether the legislative record indicates the people who fall into this category.

SUMMARY

With some exceptions, CGS § 29-35 prohibits anyone from carrying a handgun on his or her person in Connecticut without a state gun permit. The prohibition does not apply to “any parole or peace officer of this state, parole officer or peace officer of any other state while engaged in the pursuit of official duties, or federal marshals or federal law enforcement agent. . . .” PA 81-45 (1) limited the exemption for other states' officers to cases in which they are engaged in pursuing official duties and (2) added the exemption for federal marshals and federal law enforcement agents. The act did not define “federal law enforcement agent” and the legislative record does not indicate the people who the legislature intended to be classified as such.

The legislation that became the law started in the Judiciary Committee as SB 243. Neither of the two people who testified on the bill at the public hearing commented on the exemption for federal marshals or federal law enforcement agents. The Committee voted unanimously to report the bill to the floor.

On March 25, the Senate passed SB 243 on its Consent Calendar. Senator Owens, who introduced the bill in the Senate and the only person who commented on it, said the bill “would specify that federal marshals or law enforcement official agents of the United States government need not have permits in order to carry handguns while on official duty in the state of Connecticut.” (This may have been a misinterpretation of the bill. Under the bill, other states' sheriffs, peace officers, and parole officers are exempt from the permit requirement only while they are pursuing official duties. Federal marshals and federal law enforcement agents appear to have a blanket exemption.)

The House passed the bill, without debate, on its Consent Calendar on April 1, 1981.

(PA 00-99 deleted references to sheriffs.)

COMMITTEE HEARING

On February 19, 1981, the Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on SB 243, An Act Concerning Possession of Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

Wilfred Blanchette, the representative of the Department of Public Safety, which introduced the bill, told the committee that the bill's purpose was to “clearly define the term police officer with respect to the carrying of a firearm.” According to Blanchette:

[t]he law as it is presently written allows police officers from jurisdictions outside the state to carry a weapon on their persons when they're engaged in the official pursuit of their duties. It is entirely possible that under the present statute police officers from other jurisdictions outside the state of Connecticut can and do come into Connecticut for recreational purposes, vacations, to visit relatives, friends or for any other reason, and carry their weapons. . . .We seek to address this by amending the statute to clearly define “police officer” as one who is officially engaged in his duties (Judiciary Committee public hearing, Feb. 19, 1981).

The only other person who testified on the bill was Ross Upton. He told the committee that his aim was to “protest in general all attempts at gun control and gun confiscation.” He did not address the specific issues the bill raised.

Attachments: copy of SB 243 and House, Senate, and Committee hearing transcript.

VR:ts