New York sees demand for concealed carry permits spike, as new gun control law threatens backlogs

The demand for concealed carry permits in New York spiked drastically ahead of the state’s new gun law taking effect on Thursday tacking on hours of training, paperwork and other provisions in order to legally be able to carry a handgun in public, according to a report. 

Since June, there’s been in 54% increase in concealed carry permit applications in New York City, The New York Times reported. 

Meanwhile, in Oswego County, the courthouse had to add two additional staffers dedicated to processing the flow of applications trying to beat Thursday’s cut-off for even more restrictive gun control measures in New York State taking effect despite the U.S. Supreme Court delivering a Second Amendment win months ago for legal gun owners in the state facing rising crime. 

More than 150 lined up outside the Niagara County Courthouse Wednesday to submit their concealed carry permits before the cut-off, the Times reported. Court officials had handled 150 applications each day this week. A Suffolk County certified firearm trainer told the Times that he was receiving as many as 50 calls per day from people wanting permits before the even more restrictive measures took effect. 

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In the past 24 hours, 100 applications were submitted in Wayne County. 

In June, the Supreme Court struck down a more than a century-old state law that severely restricted people from carrying handguns in public, ruling it unconstitutional under the Second Amendment as people have a broad right of self-protection outside the home. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was enraged by the ruling and argued it would increase gun violence. She subsequently rushed through new legislation restricting concealed carry permits even further. 

A federal judge let the new rules go forward Wednesday evening, hours before they were to take effect. 

Despite writing that the arguments for granting a preliminary injunction to stop the rules were persuasive, Judge Glenn Suddaby said the plaintiffs — an upstate New York resident and three gun rights organizations — didn’t have the standing to bring the legal action. 

"In response to the Supreme Court's decision to strike down New York's century-old concealed carry law, we took swift and thoughtful action to keep New Yorkers safe," Hochul said in a statement Wednesday. "I refuse to surrender my right as Governor to protect New Yorkers from gun violence or any other form of harm. In New York State, we will continue leading the way forward and implementing common-sense gun safety legislation." 

"The U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision was the shot heard round the world that took dead aim at the safety of all New Yorkers. New York City will defend itself against this decision, and, beginning tomorrow, new eligibility requirements for concealed carry permit applicants and restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons in ‘sensitive locations,’ like Times Square, take effect," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. 

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"As mayor of New York City and a former police officer, my top priority will always be the safety of all 8.8 million people who call this city home, so while the Supreme Court decision may have opened an additional river feeding the sea of gun violence, we are doing everything we can to dam it and keep New York the safest big city in America," he added. 

Under the law, applicants for a concealed carry permit will have to complete 16 hours of classroom training and two hours of live-fire exercises. Ordinary citizens would be prohibited from bringing guns to schools, churches, subways, theaters and amusement parks — among other places deemed "sensitive" by authorities.

Applicants also will have to provide a list of social media accounts for the past three years as part of a "character and conduct" review. The requirement was added because shooters have sometimes dropped hints of violence online before they opened fire on people.

Sheriffs in some upstate counties said the additional work for their investigators could add to existing backlogs in processing applications, according to The Associated Press. 

In Rochester, Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said it currently takes two to four hours to perform a pistol permit background check on a "clean" candidate. He estimated the new law will add another one to three hours for each permit. The county has about 600 pending pistol permits.

"It’s going to slow everything down just a bit more," he said.

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In the Mohawk Valley, Fulton County Sheriff Richard C. Giardino had questions on how the digital sleuthing would proceed.

"It says three years' worth of your social media. We’re not going to print out three years of social media posts by everybody. If you look at my Facebook, I send out six or 10 things a day," said the sheriff, a former district attorney and judge.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.