NY State Pistol License

I stopped by my local county police department today to be fingerprinted.  It was, I thought, just another step in the ongoing process of applying for my pistol license. From what I had understood, the process would take about another 2 weeks after today. So, you can imagine my surprise when, after I was printed, I was handed the pistol license by the officer who was handling my application. I would display a copy of it here but something tells me it may be illegal or at least against the licensing rules to do so, even though a public document. I figure, why chance getting it revoked now that I just got it!

Of course, once my LEOSA identification card is issued, I will not need a state permit as per federal law. The thing is, it is next to impossible to find other than a police department to perform the required annual qualification for LEOSA and they demand you have a pistol permit when you go to their ranges. (Disquieting, how here in NYS, they disregard federal law since the whole purpose of LEOSA was to overcome the need for a state license or permit.) I applied for a pistol license to keep them happy and to assure my trouble free possession of my handguns. Of course, I will continue to help keep up the fight to overcome pistol licensing/permit laws as I have done for many years now through my membership in the NRA and the NYSR&PA as well as through my blog, my vote and by way of letters/emails to my elected representatives and so on. For now at least, it seems obtaining a pistol license was a necessary evil inconvenience.

As for actually going through the process of getting the license, it was quicker for me than it likely would be for someone who was not a retired LEO. It seems the main reason for that is not 'professional courtesy' as some might think but rather due to the fact that as a federal agent I had been subjected to repeated full field background investigations a regular intervals. I think that cut out the need for a complete background investigation by the county or state for my application. Yet, they did take my fingerprints for a reason. They will have them checked, just as they checked criminal data bases to see if I had a criminal record. It took me a total of about one month to have the license/permit issued to me. The time immediately prior to today that I had to go to the pistol license division, I spoke to another guy who was waiting on line with me. He told me that the total time it took him to get his license was just under 2 months. I had always thought it took at least 6 months but maybe I was thinking of NY City and not my county which is not in NYC. Two months may not seem a long wait but I still feel it is too long. Then again, I don't think a license should be necessary at all.

I'll just mention a bit more on the application process in general. The officers and other personnel, assigned to the pistol license division, were always professional and courteous. I don't mean just when dealing with retired LEOs like me either. I do mean when dealing with anyone whom I saw that had business with them. That was pretty refreshing to say the least. I have heard horror stories from people who have applied for pistol permits in New York City, including retired LEOs. Sometimes it almost seemed as if they were treated like the enemy by NYPD personnel simply because they had applied for a permit. My county's pistol licensing personnel were nothing short of top notch and a pleasure with whom to do business.

All the best,
Glenn B