Is a resident of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation reservation also a 'bona fide permanent resident' of the Town of Ledyard for purposes of getting a Connecticut pistol permit?

Plain-English summary

Connecticut's pistol-permit process has two steps: a local authority (chief of police, warden, or selectman) issues a temporary state permit to applicants who have a "bona fide permanent residence" within that local jurisdiction, and the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection then issues the actual state permit. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) reservation sits within the geographic boundaries of the Town of Ledyard, which raised the question: can a reservation resident apply through Ledyard?

The AG said yes. As a general matter Connecticut law treats reservation lands as within the state for purposes of state law, and prior AG opinions had reached the same conclusion in the contexts of pharmacy licensing, banking, and marriage licenses. There was no reason to construe § 29-28(b) differently. Reading the statute the other way would deny reservation residents permits they were entitled to as Connecticut residents, and would conflict with the legislature's express declaration in § 47-59a that resident Indians of qualified Connecticut tribes are full citizens of the state with all the rights that other citizens enjoy.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

The pistol-permit process under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-28(b) requires an applicant to first obtain a temporary state permit from a local authority. The statute reads: "[u]pon the application of any person having a bona fide permanent residence within the jurisdiction of any such [municipality], such chief of police, warden or selectman may issue a temporary state permit to such person to carry a pistol or revolver within the state." After the local authority issues that temporary permit, the original application is forwarded to the Commissioner, who then issues the state permit.

The question turns on whether MPTN reservation residency counts as a "bona fide permanent residence" within Ledyard. The reservation is physically located within Ledyard's boundaries.

The AG's analysis proceeded from a general principle: tribal reservations are within the state for purposes of applying state law, citing Nevada v. Hicks, 533 U.S. 353 (2001), and Van Kruiningen v. Plan B, LLC, 485 F. Supp. 2d 92 (D. Conn. 2007). Prior AG opinions had reached the same conclusion in two earlier contexts. A 1998 opinion held that the MPTN reservation was within the state for state nonresident pharmacy laws (Op. No. 98-023). A 1995 opinion did the same for state banking laws (Op. No. 95-024). A 2005 opinion (Op. No. 2005-022) addressed marriages performed on the MPTN reservation and concluded that, although tribal sovereignty allows a tribe to exercise inherent sovereign authority over its members and territory, for purposes of a local official's authority under state law a tribal reservation can nonetheless be considered within the municipality in which it is located.

That same logic applied here. The legislature has declared in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-59a that "all resident Indians of qualified Connecticut tribes are considered to be full citizens of the state and they are . . . granted all the rights and privileges afforded by law, that all of Connecticut's citizens enjoy." Construing § 29-28(b) to deny permits to reservation residents would defeat that policy and produce the absurd result that a Connecticut citizen has no path to obtain a state permit because no local authority can act on the application.

The opinion noted the 8th Circuit's holding in Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community v. City of Prior Lake, 771 F.2d 1153 (8th Cir. 1985), where reservation residents were treated as residents of the surrounding municipality for purposes of municipal elections and provision of municipal services. That out-of-circuit authority supported the reading.

A footnote addressed Public Act 16-66, which amended Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-28a to recognize marriages performed and licensed on the MPTN and Mohegan reservations. That amendment treats such marriages as marriages of "another jurisdiction." The AG explained that this recognition does not undermine the conclusion that the MPTN reservation is within the Town of Ledyard for purposes of state law generally; the marriage statute is a specific accommodation, not a general declaration that the reservation is outside Ledyard.

Common questions

Does this also apply to the Mohegan Tribe reservation?

The opinion specifically addresses the MPTN reservation in Ledyard. The same reasoning would apply to Mohegan reservation residents seeking permits through the local authority in Montville or wherever the relevant portion of the reservation sits. The general rule that the reservation is within the state for state-licensing purposes is not specific to MPTN.

Does this affect tribal sovereignty over reservation matters?

No. The opinion is careful to distinguish: tribal sovereignty allows a tribe to exercise inherent authority over its members and territory, but for purposes of a state-administered licensing scheme the reservation is treated as part of the surrounding municipality. The two are not in conflict.

What if the local authority refuses to process the application?

The opinion is binding only as guidance, not as precedent. If a local authority refuses, the applicant's recourse would typically be to consult the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners. The AG's view, however, is that local authorities are authorized to issue the temporary permit, and refusal grounded solely in reservation status would be inconsistent with this opinion.

Does this extend to other types of permits or licenses?

The reasoning is general: when state law requires municipal residency for a state-administered license, reservation residency in the surrounding town counts. Anyone administering or applying for such a license should treat this opinion as analogous authority, although the specific statutes always govern.

Citations

Statutes

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-28(b) (pistol permit application process)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-59a (resident Indians as full citizens of the state)
• Public Act 16-66 (recognition of MPTN/Mohegan reservation marriages)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-28a (marriages of another jurisdiction)

Cases and prior opinions

• Nevada v. Hicks, 533 U.S. 353 (2001)
• Van Kruiningen v. Plan B, LLC, 485 F. Supp. 2d 92 (D. Conn. 2007)
• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community v. City of Prior Lake, 771 F.2d 1153 (8th Cir. 1985)
• Conn. A.G. Op. No. 98-023 (Nov. 23, 1998) (pharmacy laws)
• Conn. A.G. Op. No. 95-024 (Aug. 24, 1995) (banking laws)
• Conn. A.G. Op. No. 2005-022 (Sept. 7, 2005) (marriage licenses)

Source

• Landing page: https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/opinions/2017/2017-05_commissioner_schriro-pdf.pdf?rev=b00a8c889a4b42e78234030419af0d94

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

GEORGE JEPSEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

55 ELM STREET
P.O. BOX 120
HARTFORD, CT 06141-0120

Office of the Attorney General (860) 808-5319

State of Connecticut
May 16, 2017

Dr. Dora B. Schriro
Commissioner
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
1111 Country Club Road
Middletown, CT 06457

Dear Commissioner Schriro:

You have requested a formal opinion on whether, for purposes of administering the provisions of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-28(b), a resident of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) reservation is a bona fide permanent resident of the Town of Ledyard such that local authorities are empowered to issue a temporary state permit to such individuals, and based thereon, the Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (Commissioner) is authorized to issue a state permit to carry pistols and revolvers. We conclude that the answer to this question is yes.

Section 29-28(b) of the General Statutes provides for the process by which a person may obtain a permit to carry a pistol or revolver. The process has two steps: first, a temporary permit is sought from and issued by a local authority; and second, the Commissioner issues a state permit to the applicant. Specifically, § 29-28(b) provides "[u]pon the application of any person having a bona fide permanent residence within the jurisdiction of any such [municipality], such chief of police, warden or selectman may issue a temporary state permit to such person to carry a pistol or revolver within the state..." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-28(b) (emphasis added). Then, "[u]pon issuance of a temporary state permit to carry a pistol or revolver to the applicant, the local authority shall forward the original application to the commissioner.... The commissioner may then issue, to any holder of any temporary state permit, a state permit to carry a pistol or revolver within the state." Id.

The question you pose turns on whether, for purposes of § 29-28(b), a resident of the MPTN reservation is a person having a "bona fide permanent residence" in the Town of Ledyard so that the chief of police of Ledyard may issue a temporary permit to carry a pistol or revolver to a reservation resident. The MPTN reservation is located physically within the Town of Ledyard.

As a general matter, tribal reservations are considered to be within the State for purposes of the application of state law. Nevada v. Hicks, 533 U.S. 353, 361-62 (2001); Van Kruiningen v. Plan B, LLC, 485 F. Supp. 2d 92, 97 (D. Conn. 2007); Conn. A.G. Op. No. 98-023, 1998 WL 1109426 (Nov. 23, 1998) (MPTN reservation located within the State for purposes of state nonresident pharmacy laws); Conn. A.G. Op. No. 95-024, 1995 WL 774705 (Aug. 24, 1995) (MPTN reservation located within the State for purposes of state banking laws). This Office has previously opined that marriages performed on the MPTN reservation are deemed to be performed within the Town of Ledyard for purposes of state law such that a license for such marriage may be validly issued by an official of the Town of Ledyard. Conn. A.G. Op. No. 2005-022, 2005 WL 2271485 (Sept. 7, 2005). That opinion was premised on the straightforward notion that, although tribal sovereignty allows a tribe to exercise inherent sovereign authority over its members and its territory, for purposes of a local official's authority under state law a tribal reservation nonetheless can be considered within the municipality in which it is located.

Where the legislature has chosen to authorize local officials to administer a state licensing or permitting regime, it follows that, absent some evidence of contrary intent, the legislature intended to treat reservation residents as residents of the municipality in which the reservation is located for the purposes of such permitting. To conclude otherwise could preclude a reservation resident from obtaining a permit from the appropriate local official that the reservation resident, as a citizen and resident of the State, would otherwise be entitled to receive. Such a result would be at odds with the legislature's express declaration that it is "the policy of the state of Connecticut to recognize that all resident Indians of qualified Connecticut tribes are considered to be full citizens of the state and they are . . . granted all the rights and privileges afforded by law, that all of Connecticut's citizens enjoy." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-59a.

We can discern no legitimate purpose supporting a construction of the statute that would deny reservation residents the right to obtain pistol and revolver permits. Therefore, we conclude that, for purposes of § 29-28(b), a bona fide permanent resident of the MPTN reservation is also a bona fide permanent resident of the Town of Ledyard. See Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community v. City of Prior Lake, 771 F.2d 1153, 1159 (8th Cir. 1985) (tribal reservation residents were residents of municipality in which the reservation is located for purposes of municipal elections and provision of municipal services). Accordingly, local authorities are empowered to issue a temporary state permit to such persons, and the Commissioner is similarly authorized to issue a state permit.

We trust this answers your question.

Very truly yours,

GEORGE JEPSEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Note: Public Act 16-66 amended Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-28a to recognize marriages performed and licensed on the MPTN and Mohegan reservations. This recognition of such marriages as marriages of "another jurisdiction" does not alter the opinion's conclusion that the MPTN reservation is within the Town of Ledyard; rather, it merely recognizes as valid under state law a marriage entered into on the reservation and recognized as valid by the MPTN.