Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed four public safety bills at West Mesa High School on Monday.
The bills were ceremoniously signed with members of the legislature, advocacy groups and West Mesa High School students and staff watching and cheering.
The public safety bills included a 7-day waiting period for firearm purchases bill, updated firearms near polling places bill, increased penalties for attempted murder defendants and a bill offering a no bond hold for repeat felony offenders.
“And what we’re doing today is a giant leap,” Lujan Grisham said. “If people can protect… responsible gun owners and their families and you can keep the rest of us safe in that design and that’s exactly what New Mexico’s going to be known for. That’s exactly what we’re going to achieve in our community.”
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Public safety legislation is not going to be solved with a bill or two passing the legislature each year, House Speaker Javier Martínez said.
“That’s why it is going to require that all of us elected officials, law enforcement, community leaders, experts continue to come together to have those hard conversations and (work) hard to develop meaningful solutions for all of our communities,” Martínez said.
Another aspect of the gun violence situation is the job market for young people.
HB 5 sets up a trust fund for public works apprenticeships so that recent high school graduates have access to jobs in the building trades that pay well.
“You’re tackling the root causes of crime with a historic apprenticeship fund that these folks right here in the audience helped create… to ensure that many of you if you so choose to go get a job literally right out of high school, a job that pays well, a job from which you can raise your families,” Martínez said.
Martínez said that public safety legislation is expected to be discussed by the interim legislative committees.
Some of the bills may have resonated with West Mesa High School students and faculty.
In 2022, a 14-year old boy fatally shot a 16-year old boy in front of West Mesa High School.
The boys were allegedly fighting over a homemade firearm.
The incident was alluded to but not named by speakers during the ceremony.
Lujan Grisham said that she was still considering a special session to discuss further public safety legislation but was not ready to say whether or not a special session will be called.
In the past, special sessions were in April or later in the year.