ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – New York has new gun legislation going into effect Friday through September 13. Anyone with a concealed carry permit that was issued before September 1, 2020 was supposed to recertify their weapons by Thursday at midnight.
Current Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino is a former licensing officer for pistol permits in his county and says the new changes are causing confusion amongst gun owners.
“Effective August 31 at midnight if you hadn’t recertified then you were in violation of the new rule. A lot of people were very concerned and didn’t understand,” said Giardino.
His office has received over 150 phone calls about the new rules. Concealed carry permit holders now have to recertify their permits every three years, instead of the previously required five years. And the process has moved online to the New York State Pistol Permit Recertification website.
New York State has been cracking down on gun violence in recent years.
“It just keeps happening, shots ring out, flags come down and nothing ever changes. Except here in New York,” said Governor Kathy Hochul at a 2022 press conference.
She signed a slew of gun reform bills in 2022, a month after the mass shooting at the Tops grocery store in Buffalo and the Uvalde school massacre that happened just 10 days later.
“Thoughts and prayers won’t fix this but taking strong action will, and we’ll do that in the names of the lives that have been lost. For the parents who will no longer see children stepping off the school bus. Spouses who won’t see their husbands and wives coming back from the grocery store,” said Hochul. “Their lives have been altered forever.”
Changes to processing background checks – called “NICS ” for short – go into effect on September 13.
“Now the gun shop is still going to put the information in but it’s not going to the federal government, it’s going through state government, through the state police. They’ll do the NICS check,” said Giardino.
Also beginning September 13, background checks for purchasing ammunition. You won’t be able to buy ammunition if you’ve been convicted of a felony, been committed to a mental institution or been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
“I think the intent of the law was to be sure that people didn’t fall through the cracks,” said Giardino.
The state will administer new fees, starting September 13, to cover the new expenses. A $9 fee will apply to firearm transactions and a $2.50 fee will be applied to ammunition transactions.
