Thousands of pistol permit holders in Ulster County are facing a state-mandated deadline to renew the documents under provisions of the 2013 gun control law.
Under the NY SAFE Act, all pistol permit holders must recertify their license every five years. Permit holders who were issued the license before Jan. 15, 2013 have until Jan. 31, 2018 to complete the online renewal process.
While the renewal process has been on the books since the gun control law passed in 2013, it was not until earlier this month that the state police, who are in charge of recertification, activated the website allowing permit holders to complete the necessary paperwork. Permit holders are asked to update information like their address, as well as pistols that they currently own or that were previously on their license but have since been sold, lost or stolen.
The process for obtaining a pistol permit can be long and onerous — in Ulster County applicants must submit notarized statements of good character, submit to an extensive background check and undergo a face to face interview with a judge. But the recertification process can be done entirely online and carries no associated fees.
Chris Ruger of Ruger’s Custom Guns in the Town of Ulster said that he had fielded a few questions about recertification. But unlike another SAFE Act requirement that required owners to register assault rifles, the new rule had drawn little attention or protest.
“It doesn’t seem to be too a big a deal,” said Ruger. “It’s a simple, easy process, there’s no headache, no cost and you don’t have to make a trip downtown.”
You can recertify your pistol permit online or download the forms at troopers.ny.gov/Firearms/
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