by Kenneth Reed
HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut’s restrictions on carrying guns and pistol purchases remain intact after Judge Janet C. Hall dismissed a legal challenge to the state’s open carry ban and its limit of three handgun purchases 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,” said Attorney General William Tong. “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.”
Hall granted the state’s motion for summary judgment, as she ruled that We the Patriots USA, an Idaho-based conservative advocacy and legal organization, and the two individual plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the laws as they are constitutional. Neither individual plaintiff was a member of We The Patriots USA, Tong said.
The individual plaintiffs had declared to the state in depositions that they never attempted to purchase more than three firearms in a month and either had no financial means or intention to do so, and they had never openly carried in Connecticut and had no intention to do so, according to Tong’s office.
The court also ruled We the Patriots USA had no organizational standing in this matter because the group’s core activities were unaffected and no one was hurt organizationally. Representatives for We the Patriots USA did not return an emailed request for comment.
The court also ruled Connecticut’s open carry ban was well within historical and recent precedent, Tong said.
This lawsuit is one of several gun-related challenges Tong has defended in recent years, including Nastri v. Dykes, which challenged the state’s prohibition on firearms in state parks last October, and an August 2025 challenge to Connecticut’s large-capacity magazine ban brought by the National Association for Gun Rights and the Connecticut Citizens Defense League.