In a new FAQ on their website, the New York State Police say that won't confiscate pistols from owners who don't recertify by the January 31st deadline.
The change was pointed out in a press release from Niagara County Clerk Joseph Jastrzemski. The SAFE Act requires pistol permits to be recertified every five years, with this January 31st being the first such deadline for gun owners. The Niagara County Legislature has repeatedly opposed Cuomo's gun control laws and sought to extend the deadline for pistol permit recertification.
Here are the updated parts of the FAQ page, as pointed out by Jastrzemski:
Q: What happens if a permit holder does not recertify before the deadline?
A: According to the statute, failure to recertify shall act as a revocation of the permit. At the same time, until we have had an opportunity to process every submission, we will be unable to confirm who has not recertified and will be unable to transmit that information to the local licensing authorities. We do not set policy for local law enforcement, but can confirm that the State Police will not take criminal enforcement action against individuals who have unknowingly failed to recertify.
Q: Are the State Police going to continue to accept recertification past the deadline?
A: Yes. Since the goal of this provision is to improve recordkeeping, the State Police will accept late recertifications. To ensure accurate recordkeeping, recertifications submitted after the deadline will be tracked separately and categorized as such.
Q: Will permit holders’ guns be confiscated if they can’t prove they recertified?
A: To be clear, the State Police will not be confiscating weapons from those permit holders who fail to recertify by January 31st. This provision was never intended to be a “Gotcha” for pistol permit holders. It was included in the law that was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor in order to update the accuracy of both state and local records. To that end, the State Police will continue to accept recertifications throughout 2018 while we continue to update the database.
“This marks real progress,” said Jastrzemski. “We have always said that we wanted our law-abiding gun owners to be shown respect and not turned into criminals over bureaucratic paperwork. It looks like the State Troopers share our conviction.”
