GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Police Department is urging those who have applied for either new or renewed gun licenses to be patient, as it has been processing a weekly volume of applications that is roughly double what was seen in October.

Police Chief Todd Dodge, in an interview Monday, said he believes the uptick in firearms license applications occurred as a consequence of the new state law setting stricter training requirements for first-time license applicants. Gov. Maura Healey signed the bill into law in July and it took effect in October, although lawsuits and a repeal campaign are pushing back against the law.

“It’s very common in the wake of legislative changes to firearms licensing, that you’ll see this,” Dodge said. “A lot of changes were proposed by the governor back in the fall. ... I think individuals feel as the legislation gets tougher and tougher, the time is now to get your license. So we’ve seen this time and again over the years. Whenever there’s legislative discussion, there’s an increase in applications.”

Although municipal police departments are generally responsible for initially accepting and processing firearms license applications, and fingerprinting and interviewing the applicants, Dodge reminded the public that state and federal agencies, which are backlogged with applications, play a significant role in the process as well.

Prior to October, Dodge said, the Greenfield Police Department received an average of five or six new firearms license applications each week. Now, he said the department is receiving 10 to 12 applications weekly. Noting that firearms license applications are usually approved within 12 weeks and are now taking longer, Dodge asked the public to be patient.

“The applications that were submitted [to the state] on Dec. 6 were just acknowledged on the state’s end, so we’re talking three months plus,” Dodge said. “For new applicants, it’s just a matter of being patient. It’s taking a long time right now and we’re handling dozens of calls. … If you don’t see it in a little over three months, then by all means, give us a call, but give it at least that.”

In Deerfield, Police Chief John Paciorek Jr. wrote in an email that his department saw a slight uptick in the fall when the state legislation was still pending.

Paciorek added that while the average turnaround time for a firearms license application was six weeks early last year, it is now anywhere from eight to 10 weeks.

“In the last four to five months, they have reverted back to normal numbers,” Paciorek wrote regarding the number of applicants. “Folks were concerned about the additional steps and requirements as part of the updated legislation, and wanted to get out ahead of it.”

Gill Police Chief Christopher Redmond said in an interview Wednesday that his department has seen a roughly 30% increase in its volume of new firearms license applications and renewals since the fall.

“A fair amount of our residents already have permits, so they’re renewed on a rolling six-year basis based on their first date,” Redmond said. “As far as the volume of licensing, we did see an uptick when the new legislation passed in Massachusetts.”

Redmond added that the department’s acquisition of an automated fingerprint identification system has expedited the process of recording fingerprints and sending them to the state for review.

Clarifying that the delay in application processing time was mainly caused by an overflow on the state level, Redmond said applicants can expect a wait time of approximately 14 weeks.

“We’re still at the whim of the Firearms Records Bureau for actually printing the cards and mailing the cards to us once they’re printed, and then we handle final delivery,” he explained. “Things were going good for a while, but then it seemed to slow way down, even though nothing’s really changed, except that they’re more expedient on our end.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.