In rural Upstate NY it can still be complicated to get a permit, you have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops but it's not impossible. Pataki has been trying relentlessly to make it even harder. On this issue he acts like a democrat and it's exactly why he or any other anti-gun politician doesn't stand a chance of winning national elections. That type of politics may play well in liberal NYC but try it in the South or West.
My family escaped from NY 42 years ago. Sadly, most of them are still subjects of the Peoples' Republic of Maryland. I, however, am blessed to have found myself (through no good or well-thought out plan of my own) much more free in Tennessee.
Remember... in NY, most Republicans are Democrats, and most Democrats are Greens.