Quick Answer: Connecticut’s safe-storage law, Conn. Gen. Stat. §29-37i (known as Ethan’s Law), applies when a minor under 18 or an ineligible/at-risk resident could access a loaded firearm — compliant storage means a locked container, a secure location, or keeping the gun on your body or within instant reach. The real penalty sits in a separate statute, §53a-217a, a Class D felony (up to 5 years, up to a $5,000 fine) that only attaches if that person actually gets the gun and causes injury or death. Connecticut layers civil strict liability (§52-571g) and a parental-removal duty (§53-206f) on top, and since October 1, 2023 (Public Act 23-53), dealers must hand buyers a locking device at the point of sale.
This guide covers what §29-37i actually requires, why Connecticut splits its storage framework across four separate statutes, and how that compares to the seven other state frameworks already covered on this site.
A conditional duty, layered across four statutes
Connecticut doesn’t use one law to do everything the way California’s SB 53 or Massachusetts’ §131L do. The storage duty itself, §29-37i, is triggered when an owner knows or reasonably should know that a minor under 18, or a resident who is legally ineligible to possess firearms or poses a risk of imminent personal injury, could access a loaded firearm. Public Act 19-5 — Ethan’s Law, named for Ethan Song, a Guilford, Connecticut teenager who died in February 2018 after finding an unsecured handgun at a friend’s house — raised the covered age from under 16 to under 18 in 2019 and added the ineligible/at-risk-resident category alongside minors.
That conditional trigger puts Connecticut closer to New York’s §265.45 model than to California’s or Massachusetts’ universal ones. But Connecticut doesn’t stop at one statute the way New York does — it spreads consequences across four:
| Statute | What it covers | Type |
|---|---|---|
| §29-37i | The storage duty itself — triggers on minor/ineligible-resident access | Underlying requirement |
| §53a-217a | Criminally negligent storage — minor/resident obtains gun, causes injury or death | Criminal, Class D felony |
| §52-571g | Strict liability for the same obtain-and-harm scenario | Civil |
| §53-206f | Parent/guardian must remove a firearm from an ineligible minor known to possess one | Separate parental duty |
No other state covered on this site splits the framework this many ways. Florida comes closest with its two-statute split (storage misdemeanor vs. culpable-negligence charge), but Connecticut adds a civil-liability layer and a standalone parental-duty statute on top.
What counts as compliant storage
| Method | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Locked container | Securely locked in a box or other container, in a location a reasonable person would consider secure |
| Carried on the body | On the owner's person at all times |
| Direct-control proximity | Kept close enough to retrieve and use just as quickly as if carried on the body |
That third option is Connecticut’s equivalent of the “readily retrievable” or “direct control” exemption other states use, and it’s the reason a bedside quick-access safe within arm’s reach can satisfy the law even while the firearm inside is unlocked from the owner’s body.
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- A mounted quick-access safe like this keeps the firearm within instant reach overnight, which is exactly the proximity §29-37i's third storage option is built around.
- Because Connecticut doesn't require a certified-device roster the way California does, any genuinely secure locked container — biometric, keypad, or combination — clears the storage standard.
The 2023 point-of-sale requirement
Since October 1, 2023, Public Act 23-53 requires non-wholesale firearm sellers in Connecticut to include a reusable trigger lock or other locking device — sturdy enough to resist easy removal, with a key, electronic, or mechanical mechanism — with every sale, and to give the buyer a written warning that unlawful storage can lead to imprisonment or a fine. Several states covered on this site require a dealer to post a warning sign; Connecticut is the only one that mandates a physical locking device change hands at the point of sale, not just a warning.
How Connecticut compares to the other seven states
| State | Duty model | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut (§29-37i) | Criminal + civil + parental duty, split across 4 statutes | Minor under 18 or ineligible/at-risk resident |
| Florida (§790.174) | Conditional — triggers on foreseeable minor access | Owner where a minor's access is reasonably foreseeable |
| Texas (§46.13) | Reactive — liability only after a child actually accesses a loaded gun | Narrow: triggered by child access, not a standing duty |
| Oregon (SB 554) | Civil infraction, universal duty | Universal |
| Washington (RCW 9.41.360) | Criminal, result-based (access + use) | Prohibited person must gain access and use it |
| New York (§265.45) | Criminal, conditional duty | Minor or prohibited person resides in household |
| Massachusetts (§131L) | Criminal, universal functional-lock duty | Universal |
| California (SB 53) | Criminal, roster-gated device requirement | Universal |
Connecticut’s closest relative on this list is New York — both gate the storage duty on who lives in the household rather than imposing it universally. But Connecticut layers a Class D felony, a strict civil-liability statute, a separate parental-duty law, and a point-of-sale locking-device mandate on top of that single trigger, making it the most legally fragmented framework of the eight states covered here. Our Colorado gun safe law guide covers a ninth state with the same conditional household trigger, but Colorado takes fragmentation in a different direction — splitting vehicle storage out into its own separate 2025 statute rather than layering more consequences onto the home-storage duty itself.
The bottom line
Connecticut’s §29-37i duty isn’t universal — it turns on whether a minor or an ineligible/at-risk resident could access the firearm — but the consequences if that goes wrong are spread across more separate statutes than any other state covered on this site. A mounted biometric quick-access safe satisfies the storage duty’s direct-control option while staying fast enough for genuine self-defense use, which is the same tradeoff Connecticut’s law is built to accommodate.
Sources: Child Access Prevention and Safe Storage in Connecticut, Giffords Law Center; Connecticut Firearms Laws, Connecticut Office of the Bureau of Firearms Permits & Enforcement.