* The four-page NYPD gun-permit application is available
from any precinct station house.
Applicants must list a reason for wanting a gun, name the
last five places of employment, reveal any arrests or convictions,
medications, history of psychological problems, any rejection from
civil service and instances when they have testified in court. Plans
for safeguarding the weapon must be detailed.
Applicants also pledge, by signature, a knowledge of city
gun laws, a willingness to take gun-safety training, and that they are
not unlawful users of pot or other narcotics.
* A notarized application can be filed with the Handgun
License Division at 1 Police Plaza, accompanied by two nonrefundable
postal money orders made out to the NYPD: one for $255, the other for
$99. Applicants are fingerprinted on the application.
* NYPD verifies information on the application through
background checks that include work history and mental state.
Any concerns at this stage of the process can result in a
rejection.
Unsuccessful applications can be appealed through the
courts.
* About four to six weeks later, applicants still in the
running are asked to come to Police Headquarters to be interviewed.
They can be asked to provide further proof of a need for a
gun with documents including tax records and police reports of a
threat.
* If a letter of preliminary approval is then granted,
applicants can use that document to purchase a gun. Once a gun is
bought, applicants must bring it to headquarters to be inspected.
The entire process can take six to eight weeks.
Brad Hamilton - New York Post
