AWB, 10-round mag limit, may-issue-leaning shall-issue, training required for permit, red-flag law (original 1999), duty to retreat in public, suppressor hunting ban. Strong preemption is one bright spot.

Recreational cannabis legal since 2021 (SB 1201). Automatic expungement of approximately 43,000 cannabis convictions performed Jan 2023. Strong harm reduction including syringe services and overdose prevention. Active psychedelic-therapy task force studying access.

State minimum wage $16.94/hr. MIT living wage for 1 adult: $18.16/hr. Ratio 0.93 — minimum-wage workers earn 93% of what's needed to live there alone.

Very high taxes and very high per-pupil spending ($26,316, 5th highest) yield strong NAEP scores and high life expectancy (~79.5), but services-per-dollar ratio is mediocre. MA-style investment without MA-level outcomes.

IJ grades CT B (conviction required since 2017 PA 17-93). HB 6004 (2020) - QI partially modified, allowing claims under CT civil rights act with some defenses. Body cam mandate. No-knock restrictions in Police Accountability Act. CT Data Privacy Act (2022). Strong sanctuary policy (TRUST Act). Whistleblower statute robust.

No-excuse absentee voting added by 2024 constitutional amendment. 14 days early voting added in 2023. Same-day and automatic registration. Non-strict ID. Felons vote after release (parolees restored 2021). Bipartisan redistricting commission with moderate partisan bias. No recent restrictive laws. Recent absentee ballot fraud scandal in Bridgeport prompted reforms but not restrictions.

Medicaid expansion adopted 2014. Abortion protected by statute since 1990, expanded under Reproductive Freedom Defense Act. Gender-affirming care shield law. Low uninsured rate. Top-tier mental health and maternal outcomes (Commonwealth Fund top 10).

Police Accountability Act (2020) limits qualified immunity (state-law civil rights claim allows narrower good-faith defense). Statewide BWC mandate (PA 20-1) with public access. POST-C decertification with public database. No-knock warrants restricted. Use-of-force statute requires necessity. Chokeholds banned. Inspector General prosecutes deadly use of force (independent of local DA).

Abortion legal and protected by statute. Comprehensive LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination including gender identity. Shield law. Conversion therapy banned. Gender-affirming care protected. No religious exemption overrides. Public funding for abortion. Long-standing strong church-state separation.

Not a right-to-work state. Paid family and medical leave (CT Paid Leave 2022). Paid sick leave (first state, 2011, expanded 2024). Federal OSHA but strong state DOL enforcement. Strong wage theft enforcement. Prevailing wage. Domestic worker protections. Below-median fatal injury rate. Predictable scheduling under consideration.