Sec. 53-206. Carrying of dangerous weapons prohibited.
Sec. 53-206. Carrying of dangerous weapons prohibited. (a) Any person who
carries upon his or her person any BB. gun, blackjack, metal or brass knuckles, or any
dirk knife, or any switch knife, or any knife having an automatic spring release device
by which a blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half
inches in length, or stiletto, or any knife the edged portion of the blade of which is four
inches or over in length, any police baton or nightstick, or any martial arts weapon or
electronic defense weapon, as defined in section 53a-3, or any other dangerous or deadly
weapon or instrument, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned
not more than three years or both. Whenever any person is found guilty of a violation
of this section, any weapon or other instrument within the provisions of this section,
found upon the body of such person, shall be forfeited to the municipality wherein such
person was apprehended, notwithstanding any failure of the judgment of conviction to
expressly impose such forfeiture.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to (1) any officer charged with the
preservation of the public peace while engaged in the pursuit of such officer's official
duties; (2) the carrying of a baton or nightstick by a security guard while engaged in the
pursuit of such guard's official duties; (3) the carrying of a knife, the edged portion of
the blade of which is four inches or over in length, by (A) any member of the armed
forces of the United States, as defined in section 27-103, or any reserve component
thereof, or of the armed forces of this state, as defined in section 27-2, when on duty or
going to or from duty, (B) any member of any military organization when on parade or
when going to or from any place of assembly, (C) any person while transporting such
knife as merchandise or for display at an authorized gun or knife show, (D) any person
who is found with any such knife concealed upon one's person while lawfully removing
such person's household goods or effects from one place to another, or from one residence to another, (E) any person while actually and peaceably engaged in carrying any
such knife from such person's place of abode or business to a place or person where or
by whom such knife is to be repaired, or while actually and peaceably returning to such
person's place of abode or business with such knife after the same has been repaired,
(F) any person holding a valid hunting, fishing or trapping license issued pursuant to
chapter 490 or any salt water fisherman carrying such knife for lawful hunting, fishing
or trapping activities, or (G) any person while participating in an authorized historic
reenactment; (4) the carrying by any person enrolled in or currently attending, or an
instructor at, a martial arts school of a martial arts weapon while in a class or at an
authorized event or competition or while transporting such weapon to or from such
class, event or competition; (5) the carrying of a BB. gun by any person taking part in
a supervised event or competition of the Boy Scouts of America or the Girl Scouts of
America or in any other authorized event or competition while taking part in such event
or competition or while transporting such weapon to or from such event or competition;
and (6) the carrying of a BB. gun by any person upon such person's own property or
the property of another person provided such other person has authorized the carrying
of such weapon on such property, and the transporting of such weapon to or from such
property.
(1949 Rev., S. 8540; 1953, S. 3287d; P.A. 86-287, S. 1; P.A. 87-220, S. 1; P.A. 98-129, S. 9; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1, S. 120, 121; P.A. 99-212, S. 12; P.A. 03-19, S. 123.)
History: P.A. 86-287 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by adding "or any martial arts weapon and electronic defense
weapon as defined in section 53a-3" and amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision permitting person to carry any martial
arts weapon anywhere within state if such person has been granted a permit to do so; P.A. 87-220 made technical changes;
P.A. 98-129 replaced requirement that a permit be obtained for the carrying of certain dangerous or deadly weapons or
instruments with prohibition on the carrying of such weapons or instruments, deleted slung shot, air rifles and sand bags
from the list of prohibited weapons or instruments, added exception for the carrying of knives with blades of four inches
or more by certain individuals and deleted requirement that the seller of any such weapon or instrument give written notice
of any such sale to the chief of police of the city, warden of the borough or first selectman of the town where such weapon
or instrument was sold or delivered; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1 repealed all changes enacted by P.A. 98-129, effective June
24, 1998; P.A. 99-212 substantially revised section including replacing requirement that a permit be obtained for the
carrying of certain dangerous or deadly weapons or instruments with prohibition on the carrying of such weapons or
instruments, deleting slung shot, air rifle and sand bag from list of prohibited weapons and instruments, adding police baton
or nightstick to list of prohibited weapons and instruments, making the exception for an officer charged with preservation of
the public peace applicable while the officer is "engaged in the pursuit of such officer's official duties", adding exception
for the carrying of a baton or nightstick by a security guard while engaged in the guard's official duties, adding exception
for the carrying of a knife having a blade of four inches or more by certain individuals under certain circumstances,
adding exception for the carrying of a martial arts weapon by a student or instructor at a martial arts school under certain
circumstances, adding exception for the carrying of a BB. gun by a person taking part in certain supervised or authorized
events or competitions under certain circumstances, adding exception for the carrying of a BB. gun on private property with
the authorization of the owner and the transporting of such weapon to or from such property and deleting the requirement that
the seller of any such weapon or instrument give written notice of such sale to the chief of police of the city, warden of
the borough or first selectman of the town where such weapon or instrument was sold or delivered; P.A. 03-19 made a
technical change in Subsec. (a), effective May 12, 2003.
See Sec. 29-32b re Board of Firearms Permit Examiners.
See Sec. 29-38 re weapons in vehicles.
Cited. 138 C. 485. Cited. 153 C. 584. Burden on prosecution to prove defendant did not possess a written permit. 179
C. 516. Cited. 195 C. 668. Cited. 208 C. 689. Cited. 209 C. 322. Cited. 210 C. 110; Id., 199. Cited. 211 C. 672. Cited. 217
C. 73. Cited. 226 C. 497. Offense of carrying a dangerous weapon is not constitutionally overbroad in violation of the first
and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution. 287 C. 237. The circumstances surrounding an alleged threat
are critical in determining if the threat is a true threat. The trial court should have instructed jury to consider the particular
factual context in which the allegedly threatening conduct occurred, including the victim's reaction to the defendant's
actions before and after the allegedly threatening conduct. Id. Defendant's threatened use of a table leg to inflict serious
bodily injury against victim, in the event that victim continued to bother him, constitutes a violation of this section and
Sec. 53a-3 if the threat is found to be a true threat not protected by the first amendment to the United States Constitution. Id.
Cited. 1 CA 642. Cited. 9 CA 330. Cited. 10 CA 532. Cited. 11 CA 665. Cited. 17 CA 556. Cited. 21 CA 299. Cited.
25 CA 433.
Compared with Sec. 29-38. 10 CS 272. A razor is not a dangerous or deadly weapon per se. Whether it becomes one
is a question of fact for the trier. The fact that a razor is specifically included in Sec. 53-207 does not mean that it is excluded
from this section. 23 CS 425. History discussed; concealment is not an element of the crime. 24 CS 85. A .22 caliber air-operated single-shot pellet gun held to be a dangerous weapon. Id.
Cited. 5 Conn. Cir. Ct. 313. Knife not coming within description of statute cannot be included as "any other dangerous
or deadly weapon" and is not within prohibition of this section. Id., 551.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 229 C. 691. Cited. 236 C. 189. Cited. 240 C. 317.
Cited. 7 CA 149. Cited. 27 CA 601. Cited. 39 CA 175. Cited. 41 CA 391. Cited. 43 CA 488.