State of Connecticut Office of the Attorney General
03/03/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/03/2026 13:24
Attorney General Tong Statement Following Dismissal of Challenge to Connecticut Gun Safety Laws
Press Releases
03/03/2026
Attorney General Tong Statement Following Dismissal of Challenge to Connecticut Gun Safety Laws
(Hartford, CT) - Attorney General William Tong released the following statement after U.S. District Court Judge Janet C. Hall granted the state's motion for summary judgment and dismissed a challenge by We the Patriots and two individuals to Connecticut's open carry ban and limitation on handgun purchases to three per month."Another lawsuit, another win. Today's ruling tells us what we already know- Connecticut's commonsense gun safety laws are lawful, necessary and lifesaving. Extremists in the gun lobby will stop at nothing to eviscerate our protections and flood our communities with ever more dangerous weapons. We are fighting back and we are holding the line. I will continue to vigorously defend our laws and public safety against any and every one of these baseless challenges," said Attorney General Tong.
The Court held that both We the Patriots and the individual plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the laws, and that the laws were constitutional. The individual plaintiffs admitted to the state in depositions that they had never purchased more than three handguns in one month, and either had no financial means or intention to do so. The individual plaintiffs further admitted that he had never openly carried any weapons in Connecticut and had no intention to do so. The Court held We the Patriots had no organizational standing because they did not allege that these laws in any way impacted their core activities and therefore suffered no injury as an organization. Neither individual plaintiff was a member of We the Patriots. The Court also held that Connecticut's open carry ban was well within historical and recent precedent.
Twitter: @AGWilliamTong Facebook: CT Attorney General
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