My Move From New York To Florida; What’s Changed For Myself And Concealed Nation

It was a long time coming. Growing up in New York, it’s all I knew. Sure I’ve traveled and explored different areas, but New York was my home.

I’ll take you back to 2013 when I first started Concealed Nation. Still in New York, I didn’t think twice about starting a firearms-related website. Then, I wanted to start doing reviews and figured I’d need my Federal Firearms License (FFL). This part was easy, but the state’s extra requirements were… what’s the word… Oh yea, ridiculous.

To deal in handguns, I was required to have a separate New York State Dealers License. Why? Because the state is a PITA. Nearly everywhere else in the Country, you’re covered with the FFL alone.

So, the license was obtained and I could now receive handguns to review. But wait. Not so fast. If I wanted to stay legal, I couldn’t bring any of them to the range.

In New York State, you need to have each handgun you own on your permit. No if, and’s or buts. But what about the dealer licenses? They don’t matter when it comes to leaving the property that the FFL is under. ANY handgun under the FFL, in New York State, has to remain on the premises. If I wanted to take a handgun to the range to test out, I needed to complete the following steps:

1. File an amendment with the county clerk to add the handgun to my personal concealed carry license
2. Wait anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months to receive a letter stating that my amendment has been accepted
3. Go to the county clerk to pick up my coupon that will allow me to take possession of the handgun
4. Pay the fee
5. Take the coupon back to my house
6. Fill out the ATF form for the background check
7. Proceed to do a background check on myself
8. If I pass, I can then take the handgun off my books and into my possession
9. Take the handgun to the range
10. After I’m done with it, assuming that I’m not keeping it for myself, I can give it back to the FFL under the inventory
11. Then, I need to file another amendment with the county clerk to remove the handgun from my personal license
12. The End.

Now, let’s fast-forward to Florida. While I haven’t moved my FFL as of yet, here’s how it works down here.

1. Receive handgun from xxxx company to review
2. Take it to the range and test it
3. Do review

Since Florida doesn’t require each handgun to be registered, I can do as I please with the inventory. Aside from having a Florida concealed carry permit, my FFL would cover handguns in the state like it should. Florida gets it.

As far as concealed carry goes, that’s a breeze as well. Now a resident, I don’t have to jump through the NY hoops in order to pick up a pistol. The wait in NY would be anywhere from two weeks to months. Do this, do that, then wait, now do this, wait a little more. Ok, now you can get your pistol.

It’s been a nice change so far, not to mention the much better weather, and will allow me to run Concealed Nation with a few less headaches. Plus, my FL resident permit is accepted in many more states than the NY permit will ever be. Adios New York. Your restrictive gun laws and ways won’t be missed.

Map courtesy of USACARRY.COM