NY pistol permit

Today I finally got my NY pistol permit. I started this process in the spring of 2006. I drug my feet getting all the paper work together and then submitted my application in October. This process has lowered my opinion of NY. I agree with screening people before issuing pistol permits, but I question the extent of the requirements and the cost to the individual in NY's process. I've paid over $200 in order to get the permit. I also had to get 4 references who live in my county to sign my application. Their signatures had to be notarized, which was a real hassle. I attended a 2-day firearms safety class at the community college (county requirement) . That really felt like a waste of time & money. I'm actually qualified to teach the class because I have an Army commission, but I still had to take it. The instructor spent the first 15 minutes explaining the sign in sheet! Then he took advantage of his captive audience to go off on tangents about his time in the Marines and other unimportant topics. Anyway, now I can actually take possession of my West Point class pistol. Oh, but first I have to have it shipped from a federal firearms dealer out of state to one in state. I can't just drive it across state lines. I guess I still can't be trusted even though I've had my background checked.