Sec. 53-202l. Armor piercing and incendiary .50 caliber ammunition: Definition. Sale or transfer prohibited. Class D felony.

(a) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Armor piercing bullet” means (A) any .50 caliber bullet that (i) is designed for the purpose of, (ii) is held out by the manufacturer or distributor as, or (iii) is generally recognized as having a specialized capability to penetrate armor or bulletproof glass, including, but not limited to, such bullets commonly designated as “M2 Armor-Piercing” or “AP”, “M8 Armor-Piercing Incendiary” or “API”, “M20 Armor-Piercing Incendiary Tracer” or “APIT”, “M903 Caliber .50 Saboted Light Armor Penetrator” or “SLAP”, or “M962 Saboted Light Armor Penetrator Tracer” or “SLAPT”, or (B) any bullet that can be fired from a pistol or revolver that (i) has projectiles or projectile cores constructed entirely, excluding the presence of traces of other substances, from tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium, or (ii) is fully jacketed with a jacket weight of more than twenty-five per cent of the total weight of the projectile, is larger than .22 caliber and is designed and intended for use in a firearm, and (iii) does not have projectiles whose cores are composed of soft materials such as lead or lead alloys, zinc or zinc alloys, frangible projectiles designed primarily for sporting purposes, or any other projectiles or projectile cores that the Attorney General of the United States finds to be primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes or industrial purposes or that otherwise does not constitute “armor piercing ammunition” as defined in federal law. “Armor piercing bullet” does not include a shotgun shell.

(2) “Incendiary .50 caliber bullet” means any .50 caliber bullet that (A) is designed for the purpose of, (B) is held out by the manufacturer or distributor as, or (C) is generally recognized as having a specialized capability to ignite upon impact, including, but not limited to, such bullets commonly designated as “M1 Incendiary”, “M23 Incendiary”, “M8 Armor-Piercing Incendiary” or “API”, or “M20 Armor-Piercing Incendiary Tracer” or “APIT”.

(b) Any person who knowingly distributes, transports or imports into the state, keeps for sale or offers or exposes for sale or gives to any person any ammunition that is an armor piercing bullet or an incendiary .50 caliber bullet shall be guilty of a class D felony, except that a first-time violation of this subsection shall be a class A misdemeanor.

(c) Any person who knowingly transports or carries a firearm with an armor piercing bullet or incendiary .50 caliber bullet loaded shall be guilty of a class D felony.

(d) The provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall not apply to the following:

(1) The sale of such ammunition to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, police departments, the Department of Correction or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States for use in the discharge of their official duties;

(2) A sworn and duly certified member of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or a police department when transporting or carrying a firearm with an armor piercing bullet or incendiary .50 caliber bullet loaded;

(3) A person who is the executor or administrator of an estate that includes such ammunition that is disposed of as authorized by the Probate Court; or

(4) The transfer of such ammunition by bequest or intestate succession, or, upon the death of a testator or settlor: (A) To a trust, or (B) from a trust to a beneficiary who is eligible to possess such ammunition.

(e) If the court finds that a violation of this section is not of a serious nature and that the person charged with such violation (1) will probably not offend in the future, (2) has not previously been convicted of a violation of this section, and (3) has not previously had a prosecution under this section suspended pursuant to this subsection, it may order suspension of prosecution in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h) of section 29-33.

(P.A. 01-130, S. 2; P.A. 03-19, S. 122; P.A. 11-51, S. 134; P.A. 13-3, S. 32; 13-220, S. 17.)

History: P.A. 03-19 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective May 12, 2003; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Department of Public Safety” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection” in Subsec. (c)(1), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-3 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to replace definition of “armor piercing .50 caliber bullet” with definition of “armor piercing bullet”, added new Subsec. (c) re class D felony for knowingly transporting or carrying firearm with armor piercing bullet or incendiary .50 caliber bullet loaded, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) and (d) as Subsecs. (d) and (e), and made technical changes, effective April 4, 2013; P.A. 13-220 amended Subsec. (d) to add new Subdiv. (2) re sworn and duly certified member of Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or police department when transporting or carrying firearm with bullet loaded, redesignate existing Subdivs. (2) and (3) as Subdivs. (3) and (4) and amend redesignated Subdiv. (4) to make a technical change and allow transfer upon death of testator or settlor to a trust or from a trust to an eligible beneficiary.