
Originally Posted by
orienteeer
last may, i decided to apply for a pistol permit in albany county, & kept a running record of the hoops i had to jump through to succeed. i have documented them here, & hope they impress upon you the overkill in time, money, & rigmarole required. i should point out that i am a 58-year old man, lived in albany county & have been using firearms all my life, & have no police record at all.
so, here's how to get your pistol license & a handgun (legally) in albany county, n.y. (your experience may vary):
1. - in the middle of may, drive to county clerk's office (15 min.)
2. - pick up permit application & pistol safety class schedule.
3. - call & make appointment to attend a pistol safety class, given about once/month @ different facilities.
4. - while waiting for class date, secure 4 signatures from people you know living in your geographical area who will "attest to your good moral character" (in duplicate).
5. - in the middle of june, attend pistol safety class at local sportsmen's club ($30 + 4 hours), & take written proficiency test (i scored 100%!).
6. - have your photo taken & attach 3, 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" photos to your application ($ price: variable).
7. - go to DMV for an official copy of your drivers license history (i had 1 speeding ticket in the last 10 years)($10 + 50 minutes).
8. - have all this attested to & notarized by your favorite notary/banker/lawyer (12 mi. + 30 minutes, $0).
9. - call your local law enforcement agency to make appointment to be fingerprinted. (side note: i have never been arrested for anything, ever. nothing trivial or serious, no misdemeanors, no felonies. my record will show nothing but traffic tickets.)
10. - in late june, go to police station, get fingerprinted 4 times: 1 for feds, 1 for state, 2 for local ($105.25 + 1 hr).
11. - learn (to your dismay) that additionally, the local police need a 1-page form filled out by each of your 4 references testifying in greater detail to your good character, so you have to bother each of them again, not only to fill out the form, but to make sure they get their signatures on those forms notarized.
12. - send the forms to all four of your references, hope they all get completed, notarized & sent back to the local police agency (they can NOT be sent to the applicant). luckily, my 4 references were dependable in this regard.
13. - early september, notice the cop who got your application going door-to-door in your neighborhood, interviewing your neighbors & your wife about your conduct: is he violent? is he responsible? have there been any incidents of spousal abuse or reckless behavior?
14. - mid-october, go back to local PD to deliver another passport photo, thumb print & sign another form.
15. - october 20th - another week has gone by & you get a letter in the mail: your application has been approved! drive to the county clerk's office, pay another $10, & the license is yours. find out that the judge has seen fit to restrict it to "hunting & target only".
16. request an appeal to the target & hunting restriction, so you will be able to possess a handgun in the county without restrictions.
17. get an appointment to go the the county courthouse to state your case. (6 miles each way, 0$)
18. - sorry , you are denied the right to possess your handgun without restrictions, you are restricted to hunting & target uses only. by the way, your permit can be revoked at any time for any reason by the judge.
<<intermission>>
19. - in mid-march, finally get enough $$$ to buy the handgun you have been looking at for months.
20. - pay the man at your favorite local gun shop, the full amount plus NYS sales tax.
21. - you expect that you would be able to take your pistol & head for home at that moment...
22. - but NOOO! you have apparently not bought a handgun, but a receipt! this is your first handgun, so you are unaware of the procedure! let's call this day zero.
23. - you have to go back to the county clerk's office to request an amendment to your pistol permit. fill out forms, show your permit, record the make, model, caliber of the handgun & show the receipt you got from the gun store. still day zero.
24. now WAIT for the judge of your county to add the new firearm to your permit (day zero plus 3), & issue you a "coupon" which will entitle you to receive the firearm which you have already paid for, from the gun retailer.
25. receive the notice of amendment in the mail (day zero plus 13), rush to the county clerk's office , fill out another form, pay $3 & take possession of the "coupon" to bring to your gun dealer.
26. bring coupon to dealer w/the receipt & your original permit, fill out yet ANOTHER federal form (1 page for you, 1 page for the dealer to complete).
27. FINALLY, travel home with your new handgun & expect you'll have to go thru the same amendment/coupon/receipt procedure for every handgun you acquire in the future!
28. wonder if the gang-bangers go thru all this to get their glocks? naaaah, prob'ly not. i could probably go to the BAD side of town with a few hundred $ and get a gun in 1hr or less!