Reply To: Sample "Just Cause" Letters

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#1164
DAVID COLBURN
Keymaster

This letter received an unrestricted license in late 2015:

Name

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Date

Your Honor,

Good morning sir, I hope my letter finds you in good health. First, let me say thank you for your service to our community. Your honor, my name is ——- and I’m writing you in support of my recent application for an Unrestricted New York State Pistol License.

I have been an Onondaga County resident for all 28 years of my life. I was born in Syracuse, NY at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and was raised by my parents, —— and ——, in Baldwinsville, NY. Both of my parents have been role models to me before I even knew what one was. Their ability to prioritize and accomplish day to day goals, while keeping a positive attitude through problems that arise caught my attention at an early age. This quality rubbed off on me, and I’m very grateful for that as I’ve found it to be extremely beneficial throughout my adult years.

As a youth, I found a love for sports, specifically playing football, baseball, basketball and lacrosse year-round. Some highlights for me were playing a Pop Warner Sectional Championship game inside P&C Stadium, being a ball boy for the Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse team in the late 1990’s, and spending 2 weeks playing baseball on a national travel team in the Cooperstown Dreams Park, located in Cooperstown, NY. These experiences were eye-opening; it showed me hard work and dedication can take you farther than you thought possible. Moving forward, I graduated from —– High School in 2005, and to date, I remain a resident of Baldwinsville, NY.

 

    After High School, I began my undergraduate studies at Onondaga Community College while working full-time. I subsequently earned my Associates Degree in Business Administration in 2008. From there, I enrolled at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, located within Syracuse University. I was able to earn my Bachelor’s Degree while going to school part-time and working full-time at Red Lobster as a Server/Certified Trainer. In the spring of 2012, I graduated from Syracuse University, a moment I’m very proud of and will never forget.

I’m a disciplined, hard-working, and self-motivated individual. I have various passions, most notably are healthy living, the outdoors, and sports. I began working out/training 10 years ago and absolutely love it. Over the past several years I have purchased various types of equipment and put together a gym in my basement. This allows me to weight train 3-4 times per week. Also, I strongly believe in eating properly, which goes hand in hand with maintaining a strong physique and healthy lifestyle. I researched proper nutrition as far as what to eat, when to eat, how to eat and why it’s important to do so. This is a lifestyle I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy, and the benefits are truly endless; physical, mental and emotional happiness is vast when you properly take care of yourself. Part of that is staying active, which I do by playing softball, kickball and flag football throughout the year. These sports were a major part of my childhood in which I have fond memories, so I wanted to continue this into my adult years. As a child, one of my favorite memories come from playing Pop Warner Football. I wanted to be able to give young men the same great memories that I have, so in 2010 and 2011 I volunteered as an Assistant Coach for the Pee-Wee level of ——— Pop Warner Football. Little did I know at the time, that it was I who would enjoy this more than anyone. This experience was much more than winning or losing games. I was blown away with the amount of joy I got from connecting with 12 and 13-year-olds, who looked up to me as an older brother more than a coach. I was happy to teach them about the game I love, but more fulfilling was being able to talk to them about their lives and what they had going on. I found myself mentoring them on a daily basis, as I know teenage years can be very difficult with so much change going on in a young mans’ life. As each year progressed, I could see the boys got more and more comfortable with me and would reach out to me as needed. To this day, I remain in contact with a handful of these young men, some of which are in High School, others in College. That 2-year experience is one I’ll never forget and will forever cherish.

I’ve been involved with the safe handling of firearms since the age of 14. Under the supervision of my father, uncle and other close family friends, I was taught and shown how to safely carry, load, fire, clean and store a firearm, specifically a 12/20 gauge shotgun and numerous rifles. Growing up in a family full of sportsmen, who enjoy both hunting and target shooting, I was able to gather extensive hands on experience which left a lasting impression to this day. I fully understand the significance and responsibility that comes with handling a loaded firearm. At the age of 14, I completed the NYS hunter education course, and this past year, I completed the NYS bow hunters education course. These courses, totaling 18 hours of education, allowed me to dive deep into details and various scenarios to learn safe protocol to follow while handling a firearm in a sportsmen’s environment. Recently, I completed the 4 hour NYS and Onondaga County Pistol Safety Course through Shooters Haven Firearms Training with David Colburn. Moreover, feeling I needed to gain more knowledge on this topic, I completed the 6 hour Article 35 “Use of Force” course through Shooters Haven. This provided me with a more in depth education as we were able to get into details and specifics.

Overall, I believe I’m a great candidate to receive an Unrestricted New York State Pistol License. I take this responsibility very seriously, and will always uphold and maintain the law as I believe that’s essential for our community. Thank you very much for your time and consideration to this matter, I greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,