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The deadline for pistol permit owners to renewal their license will depend on when they got their original permit.

(Syracuse Police)

An Upstate New York state senator wants to repeal the NY SAFE Act everywhere except New York City.

Sen. Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, says if NYC can have different rules for things like ride sharing apps and minimum wage, gun control legislation should be the same way.

"It's certainly much more popular or much better received in the city," Ortt told Spectrum News.

The bill has the support of gun rights advocates including the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. It was initially proposed at the end of last session, but Ortt thinks it will get more attention now.

"This is the first time since I've been there ... that I've really started to hear some real conversation from rank and file members about a certain repeal bill," he said.

Ortt thinks his bill will get enough support in the state Senate, but he knows that getting it through the Democratic-controlled Assembly, and getting Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign it, will be more challenging.

"The SAFE Act hasn't done anything to save anybody," Ortt told WXXI. "I dare anyone to show me a correlation between a reduction in gun violence in New York State and the SAFE Act."

Lawmakers on the other side of the aisle don't see the bill going anywhere.

"Background checks do not work more effectively in New York City than they do Upstate," Brian Kavanagh, D-Manhattan, told Spectrum News. "Background checks on sales of guns and other provisions of the SAFE Act work everywhere."

Kavanagh said he thinks the majority of New Yorkers still support the SAFE Act, which he noted passed with 70 percent support in both the Senate and Assembly.

The SAFE Act was put in place in 2013 to stop criminals and people with mental illnesses from buying guns without strict background checks. But it has been a constant source of controversy since it went into effect.

Already in 2017, officials in Saratoga and Rensselaer counties have raised objections to a provision of the law which requires pistol license holders to get re-certified.

"The purpose of the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office is to serve and protect the residents of this county, not to harass already law-abiding citizens with the SAFE Act's pistol permit re-certification provisions," Sheriff Michael Zurlo said in a statement to The Troy Record.