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Moving from PA to NY - need advice on handguns

4K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  JazzDoc 
#1 ·
Hope I'm posting this in the correct Forum discussion area.

My wife and I live in Pennsylvania. Between us we own eight handguns (revolvers and pistols).

We have licenses to carry here in PA. We are thinking of moving to New York State (Buffalo) and are very interested in finding out what the procedure is so that we can have our guns registered and ourselves licensed to carry in NYS so that we can continue to enjoy our guns.

Can anybody clue me in as to what I need to know, and is it even do-able?

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this.
 
#2 ·
You are in for a lot of running around. I think what you are describing is generally possible in many parts of upstate NY but requires you go to through a lot of paperwork to get yourself licensed to own the guns. In other words you may not bring them into NY until you are licensed to posess them. You might want to start on the NRA-ILA's site for New York's laws. A good internet search will probably turn up a NY gun group or two who can give you all the details. From what I read I can be done but, in the end, you'll wish you never left PA.

Good luck. I used to work up in Rochester a lot. Beautiful area full of nice people. Except for the politics I'd love to live up there.
 
#3 ·
You cannot legally retain possesion of those handguns in NY until you get a NY pistol permit. That gives you 2 legal options. 1. Surrender the handguns at the local PD in the community you move in to and retrieve them when you get your NY permit or 2. Leave the handguns in PA until you've waded through the paperwork and get your NY pistol permit. Then you can register them in NY and possess them.

As long as your criminal background is clean you should have no trouble getting a pistol permit issued in Erie County (Buffalo). But.... it will take awhile. First off, you will need 3 character references that live in the community you reside in. Seeing as that you are just coming in from PA that is probably going to be your biggest hurdle. The permit process itself takes about 6 months once you have all of the paperwork submitted. I am not sure what the current permit processing fee in Erie County is but it is surely >$100 and you'll add a fee for fingerprint processing and a passport quality photo too. And you'll need to take a pistol permit class too (for a fee of course).

Pistol permits are handled through the County Clerks office. I suppose it is possible that they may waive some of the normal process seeing as you are coming into NY with a valid permit from PA. I would definitely give the Pistol Permit office at the Erie County Clerk a call and explain your situation to them.

NY pistol permits are administered by the individual counties and each county has its own set of rules for issuance. In Erie County they generally have 4 different permit "restrictions"; Hunting and Taget Use, Business Use, Home Protection, Unrestricted. Yes, that means different counties can and do have different restrictions (or in some cases no restrictions at all). Generally speaking nearly everyone in Erie County that applies for a permit gets one for hunting and target use. Hunting and Target Use is easy to get and it is usually recommended that you apply initially at this level. You can always try to get it upgraded at a later date. Unrestricted permits are rarely issued but it does happen (mine is unrestricted). The restrictions that an individual county put on your permit are recognized by all of the other counties in the state.

FWIW, about 20 years ago an out-of-state family member sent me my grandfathers service arm from WWII. I wanted to have it legit so I could shoot it without worry. I had to surrender it at the local PD so they could run a serial nimber check on it. It was nerve wracking to surrender that gun to the PD but everything turned out OK. They ran the serial # through the FBI database and it came up clean so I was able to register the gun and take posession of it about a week after I surrendered it. I will admit that I was worried that I might surrender it only to never see it again but everything turned out OK and I now have legal possession of my grandfathers WWII 1911A1. (long story as to how it stayed in the family)

Good luck.

An afterthought - you might be able to send those guns to an FFL in NY and have the dealer hold them until you get your permit. I am not sure about this though. You would have to inquire with an FFL in NY maybe.
 
#9 ·
Real America?

After reading all this, I thank GOD that I live in the REAL America!
Where would that be? I live in rural Nevada. Reno is thirty miles to the West. We're pretty real here. The crazy laws in the East of this nation are not meant to control criminals because they will not be controlled. Gun laws are designed to control those who do not commit crimes with guns. I do not know why gun laws are not written with such verbiage as "It shall be illegal and a crime punishable by such methods as..." XYZ "for any person to possess a weapon for the express purposes of committing a crime with such weapon." You see, what this does is hold the innocent guiltless until he takes the decision to become a criminal. The laws they pass now make you a crook just for owning a gun. The laws pre-suppose you will commit a crime just because you own or want to own a gun. We call this fallacy liberalism...
 
#6 ·
You folks are fantastic! :) Great advice and information. I want to thank you very much for the help - these forums are the greatest.

weave, I previously lived in Buffalo for 10 years, so I do know some folks up there regarding references. And my wife's family is still up there, too.

The difference in gun laws from PA to NY is staggering! Who'da thunk it?
 
#7 ·
Jazzdoc, I grew up in the Buffalo suburbs and moved a couple counties away about 8-9 years ago. If you have references you should be in good shape. Your only issue is what to do with your hoglegs while you are waiting for your NY permit. Like I mentioned, call the Eire County pistol permit office. You may luck out seeing as you already have a permit from PA.

Keep in mind, your local PD will do the reference checking. Some of those towns require that your references be from the same township. If I remember correctly, you may be able to submit through the county sherrif's office so jurisdiction of your references is less of a hassle.

Good luck !!
 
#13 ·
Every county in New York has different laws, I live in putnam count I got my permit 3 years ago. Some counties are more stringent than others on carry permits. They usually want a solid reason for getting a carry permit, all will give you a carry permit if you own a business of any kind. other than that you will get a hunting/target shooting permit which only allows you to carry while in the woods or at the range. I suggest you contact your local county clerk's office pistol permit bureau and ask them what you need to do. MOST if not ALL new york counties will honor your permit from out of state without having to do any extra safety clases or anything. They will make you probably get fingerprinted and mail you a permit from the state but other then that you are good to go.
 
#15 ·
Greg is on the right track. I would strongly suggest that you consider having them transferred from an FFL dealer in PA to one in NY unless the County permit department tells you otherwise. If you bring them into NY prior to obtaining a permit you are legally unlicensed and therefore in violation of law. So, like if you had a car accident and they were in the car or, god forbid if they were taken, or any other interaction with a LE official in NY, you have a real problem. Like others have said I would call the County Clerks Office and pose the scenario to them. I would bet they have been through this before. In the interim or until you are settled and established in NY, keep them in a legal safe place in PA like with a licensed FFL dealer. Good luck, Peter.
 
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