New York firearms law is the kind of thing you think you understand until you're actually standing in it — and then you realize you've been wrong about three separate things. Worth walking through for anyone who travels east or has family there.

"A license is required both to possess and to carry a handgun. There's no separating the two — you cannot legally own a handgun in your home without going through the licensing process."

That trips up almost everyone who moves there from a free state. You're not just getting a carry permit — you're getting permission to own the gun in the first place. And then every handgun gets listed on the license by make, model, caliber, and serial number. Add a gun, amend the license. It's not a right, it's a filing system.

"An 'on premises only' license means exactly what it says: the handgun stays at the address written on the license. It doesn't even technically authorize transport from the gun store to your home."

Read that twice. You can get the license, buy the gun, and then have no legal way to get it out of the store. The article doesn't spell out the workaround, which tells you something about how that state views the whole transaction.

"The training requirements for a carry permit now include 16 hours of classroom instruction and 2 hours of live-fire training under DCJS-approved standards, covering legal use of force, safe handling and storage, situational awareness, and timed marksmanship qualification."

Eighteen hours total is more than most states require for anything — and this is just to carry what you're already licensed to own. For context, Idaho's enhanced permit requires four hours and a live-fire qual. The 2-hour live-fire portion is actually reasonable on its own. The 16 hours of classroom is the tax.

"If you become ineligible at any point after receiving your license, it is deemed revoked under NY Penal Law § 400.00(11)(c) and you are required to surrender both your license and all your firearms — not just the licensed ones."

That last clause is the one that should stop you cold. A DUI, a domestic dispute, a mental health hold — and you're not just losing the handgun license, you're losing every gun you own. That's a total forfeiture triggered by the licensing system, and it's why some folks in New York keep their long guns and never bother with a handgun permit at all.

If you've ever had to navigate New York's laws — whether moving, visiting family, or transporting guns through the state — what actually caught you off guard that nobody warned you about?

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Read the full article in The Handbook → | By BGC Editorial