Click here to send an Email to your legislators: "Vote NO on HB 5043: An Act Prohibiting the Manufacture and Sale of Convertible Pistols"
HB 5043 An Act Prohibiting the Manufacture and Sale of Convertible Pistols is yet another bill that affects law abiding gun owners in a misguided attempt to punish law breakers. Specifically, the bill defines a "convertible pistol" as any semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar (a cross-shaped component linking the trigger to the firing pin/sear) that can be readily converted into a machine gun (fully automatic fire with one trigger pull) by hand or with a common household tool (e.g., screwdriver, hammer, file) solely by installing/attaching a pistol converter.
- It makes it a Class D felony (up to 5 years in prison and/or $5,000 fine) for any person or entity in Connecticut to manufacture, distribute, transport, import, keep for sale, or offer/expose for sale any "convertible pistol."
- It expands the definition of "machine gun" to include a convertible pistol equipped with a converter (though possessing or using an actual converter/switch is already illegal under federal and state law).
The bill creates a de facto ban on the most common, effective defensive handguns via vague technical definitions. It burdens law-abiding citizens (who don't commit crimes with switches) while criminals ignore laws. Testimony at the March 11, 2026 public hearing was heavily opposed by citizens, yet the bill passed out of committee anyway. This bill is yet another part of a pattern of incremental restrictions on legal gun ownership in Connecticut.
The overwhelming majority of testimony on this bill was AGAINST it. But the majority passed it out of Committee anyway.
AN ACT CONCERNING CONVERTIBLE PISTOLS AND UNFINISHED FRAMES OR UNFINISHED LOWER RECEIVERS. To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.
- REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR PURSUANT TO JOINT RULE 9
Rep. Steven Winter
Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw
Last Action
File Number 597 (LCO)
House • Apr 13, 2026Latest Version
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