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Albany - Senator Pam Helming and Senator Rob Ortt today called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to extend the pistol recertification deadline. In a letter to the Governor signed by 23 of their Senate and Assembly colleagues, Helming and Ortt outlined their concerns, most notably that dealing with pistol permit recertification has proven to be a massive problem for law-abiding gun owners and County Clerks' and Sheriffs' offices throughout the state. Additionally, they believe an extension to the pistol permit deadline would allow the County Clerks and Sheriffs of this state the appropriate amount of time to process recertification requests.

"With less than 20 percent of all pistol permit holders across New York State having recertified so far, it is clear this program has failed. The current process is broken and has caused problems for our local county clerks and sheriffs and confusion among law-abiding gun owners. Our gun owners who fail to recertify face the possibility of losing their Second Amendment rights and their voting rights. The Governor must scrap the deadline and streamline the process so that our law-abiding citizens do not have their lawful rights taken away. As State Senator, I am committed to protecting the rights of our law-abiding gun owners," Helming said.

"With the cloud of uncertainty that surrounds the recertification process, a delay to the deadline would benefit both the state as well as pistol permit holders across New York. Many pistol permit holders are still unaware of the need to recertify at no fault other than a lack of information distributed by the state, and to go ahead with the Jan. 31 deadline would only create thousands of criminals out of law-abiding gun owners. We must put a halt to the recertification deadline until an adequate volume of permit holders have been properly informed and the recertification process is under control," Ortt said.

If a permit was issued before January 15, 2013, the deadline to submit a recertification is January 31, 2018. If a permit was issued on or after January 15, 2013, the deadline to recertify is five years from the date the permit was issued. This creates a disparity and confusion for County Clerks, Sheriffs, and those who were issued a permit during the second half of January 2013.

As outlined in the New York SAFE Act, pistol permit holders who fail to recertify their licenses by the January 31 deadline will have their licenses revoked. There are currently about 1.2 million pistol permit holders in New York State, but only around 230,000 have recertified as of Tuesday, January 2, 2018 – about 19 percent of all pistol permit holders in New York State. Extending the action will help law-abiding gun owners comply with the current law without the risk of turning them into felons overnight.

Cayuga County Sheriff Dave Gould said, "I am in complete agreement with Senator Pam Helming and Senator Rob Ortt's request to Governor Cuomo to extend the New York State pistol permit recertification deadline slated for Jan. 31, 2018. This deadline extension is essential to give the law-abiding citizens of Cayuga County and other New York counties the needed time to understand and fully comply with the new New York State SAFE Act."

Helming and Ortt also co-sponsor legislation (S.7343) that would grant pistol licensees with licenses issued prior to January 15, 2013 additional time to recertify their licenses under the provisions of the SAFE Act. This bill is currently pending in the Senate's Codes Committee.

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