(a) A person is guilty of criminal use of a firearm or electronic defense weapon when he commits any class A, B or C or unclassified felony as defined in § 53a-25 and in the commission of such felony he uses or threatens the use of a pistol, revolver, machine gun, shotgun, rifle or other firearm or electronic defense weapon. No person shall be convicted of criminal use of a firearm or electronic defense weapon and the underlying felony upon the same transaction but such person may be charged and prosecuted for both such offenses upon the same information.

Attorney's Note

Under the Connecticut General Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class D felonyup to 5 yearsup to $5,000
For details, see Conn. Gen. Stat.53a-35a

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Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 53a-216

  • Electronic defense weapon: means a weapon which by electronic impulse or current is capable of immobilizing a person temporarily, including a stun gun or other conductive energy device. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3
  • Firearm: means any sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver or other weapon, whether loaded or unloaded from which a shot may be discharged. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3
  • Machine gun: means a weapon of any description, irrespective of size, by whatever name known, loaded or unloaded, from which a number of shots or bullets may be rapidly or automatically discharged from a magazine with one continuous pull of the trigger and includes a submachine gun. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3
  • Person: means a human being, and, where appropriate, a public or private corporation, a limited liability company, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a governmental instrumentality. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3
  • revolver: means any firearm having a barrel less than twelve inches. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3
  • Rifle: means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3
  • Shotgun: means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3

(b) Criminal use of a firearm or electronic defense weapon is a class D felony for which five years of the sentence imposed may not be suspended or reduced by the court.