For many years, Kommiecticut's state legislature has been in control of the Demon-Craps, and the governor's office has swung back and forth between RINOs and Demon-Craps. It has been in Demon-Crap hands since 2011. It is a well known fact that the peaceable (I do not say *lawful, see note below) gun owners of this state are looked upon as political enemies by state government. How dare you own firearms? How dare you hold a permit? And good God Almighty.... HOW DARE YOU ENGAGE IN ARMED SELF-DEFENSE!? Don't you know children (depending on which statistics you look at, up to age 26) die from such abhorrent things?
I obtained my original pistol permit one month after my 21st birthday in 1983. I received my 9th pistol permit renewal paperwork via USPS in late June, with my permit to expire 9-15-23. Permits are issued for five years at $70. Supposedly taking 6-8 weeks to process. OK plenty of time before expiration.
My US Passport was expiring in December 2023. I rushed to do the renewal because of news reports of huge delays from the US State Department. 13 weeks for renewals, up to 4 months for a new application. I did not want to get jammed up without a current passport. I got two 2" x 2" passport photos from AAA for $9 and change. I completed all my paperwork for both renewals and mailed the permit certified and the passport priority mail on Thursday July 6th. Both were received at their respective destinations on Saturday July 8th.
Amazingly, I received my new passport at the end of July or early August. Shortly after that I received my deactivated old passport in a separate mailing. Nothing from Kommiecticut about my permit.
In the middle of week 8, my check had not yet been cashed, so I tried calling the DESPP (Department of Environmental Services & Public Protection) number provided on the form for questions or status. It plays a useless recorded announcement and dumps your call. Great. Next I contacted Jonathan Hardy via email from the CT Citizens Defense League about what to do. He is a leading civilian expert on Kommiecticut pistol permit issues. He reminded me of the 90 day "grace period" upon expiration and advised me to just sit and wait. The problem is, during the 90 day "grace period" you can still carry a firearm as normal, but due to state infringements post Sandy Hook, you cannot buy firearms or ammunition. Also, if you go past the 90 days you have to start the process all over again for a new permit, including the pistol safety course. You basically just send your renewal into a black hole and hope for the best. I formulated a plan for a lawsuit, but I would need standing to file. First thing I did was sign up for a Life Membership with The Second Amendment Foundation. They were going to be my go to for filing a lawsuit on my behalf for having my Constitutional Rights actually infringed upon, so I figured I should become a member first. Since I am slowly ditching the NRA, I wanted to do this anyway. Next, once my permit expired on the 15th, I was going to go to a firearms retailer and attempt to purchase a firearm, and once denied at the counter, would have my standing to sue having my Second Amendment Rights burdened and infringed. On September 11th I called a state trooper buddy of mine to see if he could find anything out for me. He got back to me a few minutes later and told me the SLFU (Special Licensing Firearms Unit) was getting slammed with 1500 mail-in renewals per day and that they are processing them in the order they were received. On that day, they were only up to July 13th. According to the USPS, mine was received on the 8th, yet my check was still not processed for payment. The 15th came and went with no permit. I had things to do the weekend of the 16th and 17th, so spending time at a gun shop was not in the cards, and I had to work Monday the 18th, so I had another idea.
I do not normally like pulling strings and asking favors especially from politicians. I did it one time before but only because my livelihood was on the line. That time, the state Department of Public Health had totally screwed up my EMT license renewal by no fault of mine. I was getting nowhere on my own and the expiration date was dangerously close, potentially putting me off the job. I contacted my state senator whom I knew personally to look into it for me. Holy shit! He went right to the top, contacting the state Commissioner of Public Health, who then immediately contacted me. I had my new EMT license in less than 24 hours after getting jerked around for months! That state senator has since retired, so this time I contacted my current state representative whom I also know personally. He is a Democrat... BUT, he knows who his constituents are and is a gun guy who does not tow the party line on gun laws. I emailed him at 11:19 on Monday the 18th and had a response by 12:46. I now had an official answer from a guy at the SLFU stating that my permit had been processed on September 14th and I should have it soon by mail. He said if I do not have it by the end of this week, to let him know directly. I immediately replied to all thanking them for the quick response, and that I would continue to wait for my permit. As of this morning, my check for $70 has been processed by my credit union and according to the USPS Informed Delivery, it should be in my mailbox this afternoon. If not for the responsiveness of those I contacted, I would have gone through with my planned lawsuit activities. I will let all involved know once I have my permit in hand and thank them once again for their assistance.
UPDATE 15:10 on 9-21-23: My new permit did indeed arrive in the mail about 10 minutes ago. As soon as this post goes live, I will be emailing my state representative, his administrative assistant, the guy at DESPP, and my state trooper buddy (on BCC) to let them know I received it and to thank them all once again.
*Lawful = Many of the formerly law abiding gun owners of Kommiecticut have been steadily turned into paper felons by the stroke of a pen since 1994, by simply refusing to comply with unconstitutional/intolerable acts making what was once perfectly legal into a crime. I have been proudly non-compliant since the state enacted its original "assault weapons" ban in 1994 all the way up to present day and everything in between. I refer to us as Peaceable Gun Owners, because we refuse to comply with Commie diktats but are not violent criminals. At least, until the state ever feels froggy enough to try armed confiscation, in which case they will turn our firearms into their fabled "weapons of war," and that will be all on them.
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