As rumours of door-to-door gun confiscations run wild on the internet, Connecticut gun owners who were law-abiding citizens on December 31, 2013, are now criminals under a new law banning so-called “assault weapons”.

State officials continue to ratchet up the rhetoric about these heinous threats to public safety, while gun owners realize once again that Firearm Registration Equals Firearm Confiscation.

Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection announced Friday it sent a letter to all known firearm owners who failed to register their firearms and magazines by the January 1, 2014 deadline.

Officials offered advice on what to do now with the weapons and magazines.

The letter says gun owners are in compliance with the new state law if their items are no longer in Connecticut or were sold to an authorized gun dealer.

Those who fail to comply face charges of possessing an unregistered assault weapon and/or high capacity magazine.

As Canada’s RCMP just accomplished here in Canada with their reclassification of formerly non-restricted firearms, Connecticut lawmakers devalued the firearm collections of law-abiding gun owners across the state.

While mere citizens may retain ownership and possession of their now-illegal items, that possession comes at a cost. You must register each “assault rifle” and “high capacity magazine” or face criminal charges.

You may ONLY transfer ownership/possession of your now-illegal items to law-enforcement, a licensed firearms dealer or anyone outside the State of Connecticut.

From the State of Connecticut Department of Emergency Services document (pdf) regarding P.A.13-3:

Q: As a private citizen, will I ever be able to legally transfer ownership of my Large Capacity Magazines?

A: Yes. Under the Act, you may transfer your LCMs to any police department and you may legally sell them to a licensed dealer or to anyone outside the state. You may also transfer your lawfully declared LCMs by bequest or intestate succession (i.e. you died without a will), or, upon the death of a testator or settlor: (A) To a trust, or (B) from a trust to a beneficiary. Any other transfer is a Class D felony.

We mere citizens may rest easy knowing that these restrictions on our private property rights do NOT affect serving law enforcement members.

They only apply to the mere citizens of the allegedly democratic state of Connecticut.

As I have said many times before paraphrasing George Orwell’s Animal Farm,

Some pigs are more equal than others.