daverea.com

On March 14th, I filled out a simple form, made a photocopy or two, signed my name and wrote a personal check for twenty clams. I tossed everything in a spiffy Priority Mail envelope, and sent it on its way. The envelope arrived at the New Hampshire permits and licensing unit on the 18th. And today, in exchange, a small envelope arrived in the mail with a plastic card. That card is my New Hampshire non-resident firearm permit.

It’s entirely possible that I’ll never actually use my shiny new permit. Or maybe I will, given that it’s accepted by eighteen different states, in some of which I may someday want to train, attend trade shows or participate in competitions.

Let’s contrast this with the permit process for the People’s Republic of New York. In my home state I had to submit to a background check, a mental hygeine report, fingerprinting, cross-checking of four different character references by two different agencies, and (to top it all off) a mug-shot. On top of this, I had to fork over a postal money order for over $100, and spend an afternoon running from office to office in order to submit all the right papers in the right order. If this wasn’t enough, New York also files away two spent shell casings from any handgun I decide to buy, an exercise in futility which (if nothing else) is a blatant waste of taxpayer dollars.

Meanwhile, let’s look at crime. In New York, there were about 6.5 violent crimes per thousand residents in 2000. Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, there were 1.7 (source).

Oh, did I mention my NY permit also took eight months, not six days to arrive in the mail? I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t need it for any pressing reason!