As throngs of New Yorkers lined county sheriff and clerks offices to apply for gun permits, racing against Thursday’s effective date of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act and its stricter requirements, there are differing opinions about whether their efforts were for naught.

Thomas A. Mitchell, counsel for the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, said Thursday he’s checking on what the law means for people who got their applications for firearms permits in as of Wednesday, the day before the new law was triggered.