The House concurred with Senate amendments to a bill to require a waiting period for firearm purchases, HB 129, after an hour-long deliberation Monday night. The House voted 36-to-32 to concur with the changes.
The bill now heads to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk.
The Senate amended the bill to say the firearm seller can transfer the firearm to the buyer after a 20-day wait instead of a 30-day wait if a federal instant background check has not been completed in that time.
Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, objected to the amendment— and to the bill in general— due to neither of them being based on scientific evidence.
“So this has nothing to do with the science. This is just because we want to make sure that that person can still get the firearm within 20 days because 30 days is too long,” Lord asked.
Bill sponsor Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, replied that the change was a provision for consumers who did not receive an answer to their background check as they now fall into a category that allows the seller to transfer the firearm to the consumer.
Related: Firearm waiting period bill passes Senate
HB 129 aims to establish a seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases and to close a loophole in state law that allows firearm sellers to hand over a firearm prior to a background check being completed.The bill is, so far, the only bill part of Lujan Grisham’s public safety legislative agenda that has made it to the governor’s desk.
