Domestic abuse

NM will seize guns in domestic abuse cases

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Gun control advocates can claim a victory after the House of Representatives voted 38-31 shortly before midnight Thursday to approve a bill intended to ensure people subject to a protection order in a domestic abuse case shall not possess a weapon. The legislation, Senate Bill 328, also requires that person to relinquish his or her firearms to law enforcement authorities. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham plans to sign the bill into law, spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said. Rep. Deborah Armstrong, D-Albuquerque and one of three sponsors of the bill, said after its passage, “I believe it will save lives. “There’s a much higher likelihood of death by firearm in situations of domestic violence when a gun is available,” she said.

Domestic abuse

Senators aim to close ‘loophole’ in domestic violence gun ban

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One of New Mexico’s U.S. Senators introduced legislation that would make sure those convicted of domestic violence offenses in the military cannot own a firearm. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, worked with U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a Republican, on sponsoring the legislation. Both men described the bill as one that can pass with bipartisan support and will have a real-world impact. They introduced the bill in response to the fact that the man who killed over two dozen men, women and children in a Sutherland Springs, Texas church was convicted of assault against his wife and step-child and discharged for bad conduct while a member of the U.S. Air Force. The alleged murderer was still able to buy guns despite a federal ban preventing those convicted of domestic violence from buying firearms.

But there is no specification in the Uniform Code of Military Justice for domestic assault, Flake said, only for assault. Because of this, the military has not been reporting convictions of what would be classified as domestic assault in non-military courts to a federal database of domestic abusers meant to prevent them from owning weapons.