CHENANGO COUNTY – The New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act has been a topic of dissension among legislators since its passing in January, 2013.
But many counties are taking action to distance themselves from the new measure of gun control, some recently adopting proposals that request the state to refrain from using their county’s name or seal on pistol permit recertification notices. Chenango County has not passed such a measure, according to County Clerk Mary Weidman.
“There is a lot of information going out that relates to the pistol permit recertification process that will occur by 2018,” said Weidman. “Most county clerks don’t want their county name linked to it in any fashion.”
Terms of the New York SAFE Act indicate enforcement of the pistol permit recertification process is the responsibility of New York State Police. All pistol licenses must be re-certified to the Division of State Police every five years, the legislation states. And licenses issued before the SAFE Act was passed last January must be re-certified by January, 2018.
The SAFE Act also requires State Police to send a notice to all license holders who have not re-certified by the start of 2018. The legislation stipulates that pistol permit holders re-certify every five years thereafter.
In an effort to localize the legislation, state officials have suggested using county names, including that of the sheriff’s office and the official county seal in pistol permit recertification notices.
“I think the state was trying to make it more local, which included a county name with a State Police presence,” Weidman said.
Several counties – including Essex, Tioga, Delaware, Oswego, Schoharie and Allegany counties – recently adopted resolutions in protest of state officials using their county seal or any other form of identification with regard to the SAFE Act. These resolutions were forwarded to state lawmakers and governing bodies of other counties, including the Chenango County Board of Supervisors.
While efforts to remove identification from pistol permits may have been partly in protest of the work of legislation, Weidman noted, “Many (county clerks) are more afraid of an increased work load and increased burden on their county ... They are afraid this will eventually lead to increased costs the county would have to pay.”
Town of Greene Supervisor Jack Cook, Chairman of the Chenango County Safety and Rules Committee, explained that while Chenango has not formally disapproved of using county identification on pistol permit recertifications, such a proposal would be merely a gesture on the part of the county and would actually have little impact on the state’s rulings in relation to the SAFE Act.
“If the issue comes to the committee, we would likely follow the advice of the Sheriff,” he said. “But it’s another issue that, either way, might not amount to anything. If it does come to committee, we will address the situation then.”
“A lot of the discussion about recertification is a bit precipitous,” Weidman added, also noting that as parts of the SAFE Act legislation go into affect, there may be implementation of a statewide pistol permit process to replace the current permitting process which varies between counties. “Part of this whole legislation is to get a New York State Database more current and up to date,” she said. “Tracking guns is a significant part of it.”