Feb. 26, 2014

After tens of thousands of defiant gun owners in Connecticut chose not to register their semi-automatic rifles to comply with a hastily-passed gun control law, the state is now taking some action. Officials are reportedly notifying gun owners who submitted late applications that they have one last chance to get rid of their “illegal” weapons.

State officials did accept some gun registration applications that were submitted after the Jan. 4 deadline, however, not all late applications were accepted, the Journal Inquirer reports.

“But rather than turn that information over to prosecutors, state officials are giving the gun owners a chance to get rid of the weapons and magazines,” the report adds.

So gun owners who actually tried to register their guns and magazines, intentionally late or not, are now on the state’s radar for owning guns that became illegal overnight. Owning an unregistered semi-automatic rifle or high-capacity magazine that was legal prior to Jan. 3 is now a class D felony under the new law.

The Capitalism Institute claims to have obtained a copy of the notarized letters Connecticut officials are sending out to late registration applicants:

While we can’t confirm the authenticity of the letter above, the Journal Inquirer, which is a local paper covering North-Central Connecticut, reports the state does hold notarized letters for violators.

As TheBlaze reported earlier this month, as little 15 percent of the now-illegal semi-automatic rifles have actually been registered with the state of Connecticut.

“No one has anything close to definitive figures, but the most conservative estimates place the number of unregistered assault weapons well above 50,000, and perhaps as high as 350,000,” the Courant reported.

Republican state Sen. Tony Guglielmo recalled talking to a constituent who informed him that some gun owners are intentionally taking part in “civil disobedience” because they feel the law is unconstitutional.

It’s unclear if the state plans to start prosecuting gun owners who don’t dispose of their semi-automatic rifles or high-capacity magazines — or if they have a plan to check to see if the late applicants comply with the warning. It’s also uncertain if the state plans to go about identifying gun owners who didn’t try to register their guns at all.

Though it was too late to contact the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection on Wednesday, TheBlaze will reach out to the agency on Thursday.

Again, this viral photo of Connecticut gun owners waiting in line to register their guns in December, which one person said reminded them of the “Weimar Germany,” still seems relevant:

Holy Crap. Looks like Weimar Germany @chipwoods @MaxCUA CT men waiting in line to register guns with the govt pic.twitter.com/L74YQxkICy

— Legal Immigrant (@votermom) December 31, 2013