Here’s why St. Lawrence County stopped issuing gun permits

CANTON, New York (WWNY) - People in St. Lawrence County who want a gun permit will have to wait. The county has stopped issuing the permits because officials want a clear path forward.

The revelation came Wednesday night during the 7 News debate, when 116th Assembly District candidate Susan Duffy said, “I personally applied for a conceal carry permit in November of last year. I found out this week. I finally had a call this week and I was told that number one, in St. Lawrence County the judge is no longer issuing concealed carry permits. They’re also no longer taking applications for concealed carry permits.”

Duffy’s comments were a reaction to Governor Hochul’s new gun laws which, among other things, prohibit weapons in most public spaces. A federal judge put major parts of the law on hold this week.

7 News found what Duffy said was true; gun permit applications are on a temporary hold, according to the St. Lawrence County Clerk Sandra Santamoor.

“We just haven’t been accepting applications since the new law has taken effect. Number one, the state has already changed the application that they originally came out with once. You know, to keep processing stuff that’s not even right to begin with. So at this point basically what it is is that we’re waiting for clarification from both the state and the judge,” said Santamoor.

As New York’s gun laws work their way through the courts, gun shop owner Matt Pinkerton is frustrated, believing the new laws were flawed from the start.

“I completely understand why the permit process would be slowed or halted at this point because the governor has put into place a system that is very logistically difficult to enact,” he said.

The fight over gun laws in New York is far from over. The state says it will appeal the judge’s decision this week striking down parts of the law, and no one expects that appeal to be the last word.

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