BINGHAMTON – On Friday, Sheriff Dave Harder joined Senator Fred Akshar to call on the Governor to extend the deadline for gun owners to recertify their pistol permits. The NY SAFE Act requires any gun owner with a permit that is five years old or more to recertify by January 31.

“Broome County has thousands of law-abiding gun owners and the state has imposed additional recertification guidelines,” said Sheriff Dave Harder. “We shouldn’t also be punishing them as they go through this time-consuming, bureaucratic process.”

Harder and Akshar called for the delay to allow county clerks and sheriff’s offices across the state to process recertification requests. Currently, Broome County has over 25,000 pistol permit holders, but fewer than 10% have applied for recertification. County clerks in Madison, Erie and Niagara County have joined the chorus in asking for the delay.

“We’re fielding hundreds of questions regarding recertification’s each week, but many gun owners are unaware of the deadline or have yet to receive notification in the mail,” said Harder. “Pistol permit holders need to be informed that the deadline is quickly approaching.”

The NY SAFE Act’s recertification guidelines can lead to confusion. For example, 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 means if a permit was issued on January 14, 2013, the deadline to recertify is January 31, 2018. However, if a permit was issued on January 16, 2013, the deadline to recertify is January 16, 2018. This creates a disparity and confusion for both those processing the recertifications and those who were issued a permit during the second half of January 2013.