I don't necessarily disagree with renewals either. However, if you listen carefully to the discussions, the true reason for this bill comes to light.
A question was asked that was to the effect of "does this process provide an opportunity for a judge to decide, at his discretion, to revoke someone's permit or reissue it as restricted?"
The answer was "Yes. In fact that's why we want this."
So, imagine you're in a county where you managed to get a full carry permit, then a new judge is elected. A new judge who thinks all permits should be target shooting only, unless there is an actual threat against your life already. Or worse, you get a judge who thinks no one should even have a permit. Check out what happened to Link Removed. It's the Sheriff there, but a judge here could just as easily impose their views in a NY county. This is what the anti's in NYS are after with this bill. Ways they can leverage and pressure judges to take away permits, making it unnecessary to ban guns. Let someone else take the heat.
If renewing permits was done in a way that really, and truly, actually did reduce crime, and was not simply designed to further erode the rights bestowed by the second amendment, I would be all for it. I am also in support of requiring people to retake their driving test every so often to prove they can still handle a vehicle. How many times does a car or taxi or bus have to run down people on the sidewalk in NYC before the mayor calls for action against bad drivers? All it takes for guns is a poor bastard to accidentally shoot himself in the leg for the mayor to stand in front of the cameras and say "See? See?!! See why we have to ban all guns everywhere?!?" In the small town where I work, a old lady accidentally drove her car into the side of the local grocery store building. Twice. In one month. She has trouble putting it into reverse instead of drive when backing out of the parking spot. She still has a license to drive.
On the .50 cal ban - show me one case where a .50 cal weapon was used in a crime in NYS! Just one case.
As for requiring safety courses - I do in fact support this one, though not the way it is written in the current bill. I do believe that someone who is obtaining a permit to carry a concealed weapon should be required to take not only a basic handgun safety course, but also a course on article 35, the use of force law in NYS (or a single course that includes both). You would be amazed at how convoluted it is to determine the circumstances in which you would be able to lawfully use your weapon in self defense. If you carry a gun in NYS, and you don't know thoroughly what the framework is for when you can use deadly force - you need to find out!