Crime

Unlicensed Gun Owners

Law-abiding New Yorkers wishing to purchase a gun must run an official gantlet and be prepared to wait as much as six months for approval. Small wonder then that unlicensed gun owners outnumber those who are licensed ten to one.

• About 75,000 New York City residents are legally licensed handgun owners -- with an estimated 750,000 unlicensed owners, according to the National Rifle Association.

• Only 3,000 new pistol license applications are filed annually and the Police Department is only required to act on applications within six months.

• The applications paperwork is so tricky that many applicants must hire consultants to help them figure it out.

• Those failing to answer correctly any one of the 28 questions on the application must start all over again -- and pay the nonrefundable $170 license fee and the $74 fingerprint fee a second time.