Pistol License Application Submitted

I stopped the headquarters of my county's police department this evening, just to make sure i had everything right on my application and to make an appointment to get things rolling. I had thought they were open until 7PM every night but low and behold they closed at 5PM tonight and of course i got there with only 10 minutes to spare. Well, one of the officers took care of me regardless of the time and reviewed my application which was in order. Somehow I forgot my birth certificate and a utility bill, both of which I had in an envelope at home that was supposed to be in the larger envelope I had with me. He said to bring those things in with me when they fingerprint me. That date has been set as March 15 at 1PM.

Another one of the people who works in the pistol license division told me it usually takes about 2 weeks to get the license after the fingerprints have been submitted. I guess that would make it the end of March as the time frame for me having the license, that is if all goes well. Other than my usual bad luck with such things, I would guess there would be no hold ups.

I have to say that the gentleman who helped me was just that - a gentleman! He was very courteous and professional. He was also nice enough to work about 15 minutes passed closing time to get me through the application submission process. In addition, he knew and was a friend of one of the people I put down as 'someone who knows me'. They usually require formal references but this requirement is waived for retired LEOs I imagine it is waived because we have to get a letter of reference from our last employer and submit that (called a 'good guy letter') with the application. So instead of 4 or 5 references, they ask us to put down the names of a couple of people we know. The person, that I put down, that the officer knew, is one of my neighbors and a friend. He is also an inspector in the same police department where I was submitting the application. That brought a raised eyebrow. It is good to have friends in the right places although I don't expect and would not want any extra attention because I put him down. It was rather amusing though to see the reaction when the officer first saw my neighbor's name on the application. I have to remember to say 'hi' to my neighbor from the officer.

So, even though I only went to the police department to see if I had it all completed properly, the application actually has been submitted. I have a date for fingerprinting. I am guessing they would also possibly interview me at that time if need be. After that, I expect to get the license within about 2 weeks. That cannot be beat for anything getting done in NY State. I will be quite the happy camper when I do have it. Even though I anticipate it being issued pretty quickly, I almost cannot wait; I am anxious eager to get to the range to get some shooting done with my handguns.

All the best,
Glenn B