Requirements change for Orange County pistol permit applicants

GOSHEN – A change in requirements for gun permit applicants has been implemented in Orange County.
Sheriff Carl DuBois and County Clerk Annie Rabbitt said effective immediately the purchase of a handgun prior to submitting an application for a gun permit is no longer required.
Previously an applicant for a permit was required to tentatively purchase a handgun and wait for the permit process to conclude before taking possession.
Most merchants required the applicants to make substantial down payments and some charged holding fees if the process was not timely for the handguns that were to be purchased, the county officials said. Some applicants, if they were denied a permit, received only store credit instead of a full refund.
They noted that merchants were dealing with substantial on-hand stock being held with partial payment for extended periods of time that would otherwise be available for sale.
DuBois called the change “a common sense approach to the gun permit process.” He said an applicant receives approval for a gun permit and then goes to a store to purchase one. “I continue to encourage all such gun permit holders to become proficient with the handgun they select by seeking appropriate training,” the sheriff said.
His office launched a training program for gun permit applicants and gun permit holders in 2014.