(WGGB/WSHM) - If you own a gun in Massachusetts — or are trying to get one — there is a new law taking effect on Thursday. Starting on April 2nd, the state requires new, expanded training for anyone applying for or renewing a firearms permit. However, there are serious questions about whether the state is ready for its own deadline.

If you are applying for the first time, or your renewal is coming up, the rules have changed. But if you already have your license to carry, it might impact you when you renew, based on when you applied.

The new law expands what’s required in a basic firearms safety course. Applicants must complete live-fire instruction, expanded education on firearm laws, safe storage, and a written exam. But here’s the problem. With less than 24 hours until the law takes effect — the state had not yet posted its list of approved courses.

We spoke with John Green — Director of Education and Training for the Gun Owners Action League, known as GOAL. He called this rollout a “complete mess.”

“Here we are 12 hours away from the new law taking effect, I checked to see if there were any updates on the approved course roster available at Mass.gov. And the answer is no,” Green said.

Since that conversation, the state had posted the approved course list around 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, that’s just hours before the law takes effect. Green said the delay is already causing problems on the ground. One instructor told him a student tried to apply for a license in Lowell this past weekend and was turned away.

The police department said it needed the new training certificate — one that won’t be available for another two weeks. Green said the law was passed without adequate funding or input from the people it would affect. He said state police, tasked with reviewing new course submissions, was not prepared for the workload. The law is designed to make gun safety training more rigorous across Massachusetts.

But the bigger challenge may be this: tens of thousands of residents are trying to follow the new rules — and the state is still catching up.

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