West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns was in West Seneca on Wednesday outside the Outreach Center to announce the extension of hours at the center in order for residents to submit their pistol permit applications prior to the changes in the New York SAFE Act that go into effect on Sept. 1.
It was back in July when the New York State Legislature passed additional gun restrictions on gun owners. These new rules in place will allow many more gun owners to apply for a license to carry a concealed weapon, but would seek to set new restrictions on where firearms can be carried.
New York is also setting new requirements for obtaining a handgun permit, including mandating 15 hours of in-person training at a firing range. The Legislature is also primed to enact new rules around firearm storage in homes and vehicles.
Other provisions require background checks for all purchases of ammunition for guns that require a permit, and bar people with a history of dangerous behavior from getting handgun permits.
Hochul and other fellow Democrats also plan on compiling a list of "sensitive places" where the average person will be banned from carrying firearms, including hospitals, schools and public transportation.
As of Sept. 1, New York State is also changing the laws and the requirements that all County Clerks will have to follow in order to process the pistol permit application for residents.
However, there is a key aspect of this new laws that will actually benefit any Erie County resident looking to obtain a pistol permit.
"Yesterday, I met with the licensing officer, Judge [William] Boller, who has the final determination when it comes to approving or disapproving a pistol permit in Erie County," said Kearns during his press conference on Wednesday. "He recently met with the Eighth Judicial District and all of the judges to make a decision on whether applicants who complete the process before the new requirements on Sept. 1 will be grandfathered, and will be able to be applying the old rules of applications. We have decided in consultation with the hearing officer and the Eighth Judicial District other counties that is going to be their path to make sure that if you apply for a pistol permit prior to Sept. 1, the new law and the new requirements will not be applicable in those counties."
To accommodate the expected volume of applicantion submissions leading up to the changes in New York's gun ownership laws, Kearns' office will be extending hours on Monday, Aug. 29 and Tuesday, Aug. 30 from 5 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET. Then on Wednesday, Aug. 31, those hours will be extended from 5 p.m. ET to 12 a.m. ET on Thursday.
These additional hours will only apply for the Clerk's Outreach Center in the Southgate Plaza at 1088 Union Road in West Seneca.
"I believe it's very important for people to have this opportunity I know there may be the possibility of judicial intervention through an injunction, but we can't count on that. We have to be prepared, and I am going to be prepared to make sure that people have this opportunity based on the recommendation of our licensing officer, Judge Boller."
Applicants will be required to have the application and all 12 steps, as required on the instruction page, completed in order for the application process to be accepted. There will be an application fee of $20 in the form of a personal check or money order that can be made payable to the "Erie County Clerk".
Erie County Clerk
If any application is found to be missing any information, the entire application will be mailed back to the applicant and will need to be re-submitted at a later date.
Kearns does remind residents that due to the limited appointment availability through New York State vendor IdentoGo, for digital finger prints, if the applicant is unable to be fingerprinted prior to Aug. 31, his office will accept a copy of the appointment confirmation form as verification for an applicant's future appointment. Once the applicant completes the fingerprint process, they will be required to bring in or mail their receipt so their file can be updated and moved into the next step of the process.
"There are so many people that are trying to get in prior to this new New York State deadline of Sept. 1 with the additional requirements that has been put on these gun owners by the State of New York, by the Governor and the Legislature," Kearns said. "There are only so many hours in the day, there are only so many appointments that can be had by these prospective applicants."
More from Kearns' press conference is available in the player below:
