Democrats advanced an assault weapons ban through its first legislative committee last night over the objections of Republicans, gun dealers and 2nd Amendment advocates concerned it would ban some of the most popular firearms sold and transferred in New Mexico today.
“This bill represents perhaps the worst mockery of the Second Amendment in state history,” said Senator Jay Block, a Republican from Rio Rancho. He and other Republicans argue the bill will add new burdens to legitimate gun dealers without stopping criminals who, by definition, do not follow laws. Proponents counter that prohibiting the sale of these weapons will limit the number available on the street.
As drafted, as prohibits the sale or transfer of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition, .50 caliber rifles or cartridges, gas-operated semiautomatic firearms that can accept detachable magazines or hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and machine guns. It leaves much of the work of identifying other “dangerous” weapons up to future regulators in the state’s Department of Public Safety.
New Mexicans bear a disproportional impact of gun violence, data shows. New Mexico had the 4th highest overall gun death rate in the country and the highest gun homicide rate among Hispanics in the country in 2023, according to the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health which tracks gun violence nationwide. Firearms were also the leading cause of death among young people ages 1-17 in 2023, according to the data.
State Sen. Debbie O’Malley (D-Albuquerque), a sponsor, reminded committee members that she and other elected officials in Bernalillo County had been targets of a failed candidate who shot at her home. Solomon Peña was ultimately sentenced to 80 years in federal prison for those shootings.
Dozens of crime victims and advocates, including many from the group Moms Demand Action to End Gun Violence, filled the committee room opposite gun dealers and shooting sports advocates.
One member of the public, a Native woman who declined to provide her name publicly, spoke about her experience as a domestic violence victim living with an armed abuser in Albuquerque and previously on Native reservations. Christina Gill of Santa Fe explained that during the prosecution of a man charged with killing her son, prosecutors explained that current laws did not allow courts to consider how the shooter, a prohibited felon, obtained the weapon. SB17 includes provisions giving law enforcement access to data to better trace those transfers, sponsors say.
In her State of the State address on the opening day of the session, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham called on legislators to pass an assault weapons ban, despite recently losing a significant challenge to her last signature gun bill, a 7-day waiting period for gun purchases.
To reach the governor’s desk before the end of the session on Feb. 19, the bill must still pass the Senate Judiciary Committee, a full Senate vote and committees and final votes in the House of Representatives.