HAMBURG, N.Y. — Education outreach continues for pistol permit holders who need to recertify under the New York SAFE Act.
The Erie County SCOPE group and VFW Post 1419 hosted a seminar to explain more about the provision in the 2013 law, which now requires pistol permit holders to recertify with the state police every five years for the handguns they own.
A state police spokesman in Albany told Channel 2 on Friday that they will not take criminal action against anyone who unknowingly misses the Jan. 31 deadline and will accept recertification forms after that date.
But Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns, who voted no on the law as a former State Assemblyman, warns that it's safer to just re-certify before the end of the month because what constitutes “unknowingly” hasn’t been defined.
“We don't know what the ramifications will be, how this will be enforced, and right now according to the law, if you do not re-certify, you are a felon,” Kearns said.
Kearns says the Erie County Clerk's office is trying to assist pistol permit holders as well as handle a record amount of new applications for pistol permits.
Kearns has been hosting outreach events throughout Erie County all month long. He says you can recertify on behalf of an older relative, and his office can help find out how many handguns are actually listed on an existing permit.
Read some of the questions and answers on re-certification that Channel 2 put together a few weeks ago here.