Heads up to Manchester residents

[mdntridr]

This might be old news to some of you but it's new to me: expect a 3 week wait for your pistol permit renewal, at a bare minimum. I spoke to the lady in the records department today and she was aghast that I was wondering where my renewal was after only 15 days . She told me to check back on 2/25 which is exactly 3 weeks since my application.

Anyone else have experience in this area? Is mine the exception rather than the rule?

 

[doobie]

Oh good! Time to sue them! They have 14 days by law.

 

[doobie]

Tell them they are in violation of 159:6 and you will be contacting the AG if you do not get your permit withing 24 hours.

159:6 License to Carry. –
I. The selectmen of a town or the mayor or chief of police of a city or some full-time police officer designated by them respectively, upon application of any resident of such town or city, or the director of state police, or some person designated by such director, upon application of a nonresident, shall issue a license to such applicant authorizing the applicant to carry a loaded pistol or revolver in this state for not less than 4 years from the date of issue, if it appears that the applicant has good reason to fear injury to the applicant's person or property or has any proper purpose, and that the applicant is a suitable person to be licensed. Hunting, target shooting, or self-defense shall be considered a proper purpose. The license shall be valid for all allowable purposes regardless of the purpose for which it was originally issued. The license shall be in duplicate and shall bear the name, address, description, and signature of the licensee. The original shall be delivered to the licensee and the duplicate shall be preserved by the people issuing the same for 4 years. When required, license renewal shall take place within the month of the fourth anniversary of the license holder's date of birth following the date of issuance. The license shall be issued within 14 days after application, and, if such application is denied, the reason for such denial shall be stated in writing, the original of which such writing shall be delivered to the applicant, and a copy kept in the office of the person to whom the application was made. The fee for licenses issued to residents of the state shall be $10, which fee shall be for the use of the law enforcement department of the town granting said licenses; the fee for licenses granted to out-of-state residents shall be $20, which fee shall be for the use of the state. The director of state police is hereby authorized and directed to prepare forms for the licenses required under this chapter and forms for the application for such licenses and to supply the same to officials of the cities and towns authorized to issue the licenses. No other forms shall be used by officials of cities and towns. The cost of the forms shall be paid out of the fees received from nonresident licenses.
II. No photograph or fingerprint shall be required or used as a basis to grant, deny, or renew a license to carry for a resident or nonresident, unless requested by the applicant.

 

[dagwag77]

that work for non-res?

 

[ItalianBostonian]

Dagway77,

The 14-day "shall issue" requirement is only on resident permits issued by local police departments. The State Police who issue out-of-state permits operate on a completely different set of rules.

 

[dagwag77]

lame, but thanks for the reply... Guess i'm gonna have to sit and wait like everyone else...

 

[ShadeWPI]

Doobie

While it is true that more than 14-days is a violation of RSA 159:6, a letter demanding a response in 24-hours is not likely the best response, nor is suing them.

Under NH law, a civil law-suit can only recover actual damages plus reasonable atorney's fees and the burden is placed on the plentiff to prove actual damages. So, unless you can prove that you were financially damaged by the delay in recieving your permit, the best you can hope for is an award of atorney's fees.

A polite call to whom ever is "designated" to issue permits to discuss that persuient to RSA159:6 his office has 14-days to issue a permit or provide, in-writing a reason for denial, is much more likely to obtain a positive response.

 

[doobie]

Under NH law, a civil law-suit can only recover actual damages plus reasonable atorney's fees and the burden is placed on the plentiff to prove actual damages. So, unless you can prove that you were financially damaged by the delay in recieving your permit, the best you can hope for is an award of atorney's fees.

I'm not looking to get rich. Them paying my attorney fees is enough. Attorney fees for their wrong. Make them pay if they want to violate the law. I mean *we* end up paying when we're caught. I'll get a lawyer to bill me $5k if I win so they have to pay $5k.

If enough people did that, perhaps they wouldn't violate the law and harass us for NOT violating the law.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I'll get a lawyer to bill me $5k if I win so they have to pay $5k.

It is unlikely you will find an attorney to take this case on a contingency fee basis. Such arrangements are generally limited to cases where they are getting a "cut of the action" resulting in huge hourly fees. Attorney Fee court awards generally have the word "reasonable" in them and a deal like "$1000 an hour if you win, nothing if you lose" would probably be knocked down to a "reasonable" level by the court. Also, unlike "Oh, my neck hurts even thought the MD cannot find any problem....only insurance company money will relieve my pain", a case like this one is not a virtual certainty for victory or settlement, and the state probably won't just give you money to go away.

There is the very real chance a court would decide in favor of the govt saying that the limit does not apply when it is due to staffing and budgetary issues.

 

[sgtmac]

I had a similar issue when I went to renew here in Somersworth. After six weeks of calling and getting the run around, I contacted GONH and the local NRA rep, I was also given the name of NH attorney that is well known for dealing with this type of thing, having successfully taken a few seacoast towns to court and winning. A guess this area has a habit of not following the rules. The attorney works on a pro-bono system. If you would like the name and numbers of the people I contacted, just email me. I did not need the attorney, two days after contacting the NRA rep and a couple of the other folks, I had my LTC.

 

[Airwolfe1]

I'd run it by Evan Nappen, Attorney at Law http://www.efnappen.com/

FREE CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE CALL TOLL FREE 1-888-4-GUN-LAW

He also published, "New Hampshire Gun, Knife, and Weapon Law"

E.F. Nappen Attorney at Law, PC
280 Pleasant Street, 1st Floor,
Concord, NH 03301
Office: (603) 223-0001
Fax: (603) 223-0007
Email: [email protected]