Although it can be argued that New Mexico meant well with its firearms-related legislation of recent years, advocates of responsible gun ownership say the efforts are doing more harm than good.
In 2020, the New Mexico Legislature passed Senate Bill 5, also known as the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act. Although it was intended to protect the public from certain high-risk gun owners, critics and civil liberties advocates say it inhibits the rights of legitimate gun owners.
Zac Fort, president of the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (NMSSA), told New Mexico Sun that working on this issue came naturally to him as a gun owner with experience in public policy. Fort said that although New Mexico's gun laws have been so-so in the past, recent legislation with political motivation at the core have made the state less favorable for gun owners.
"In particular, the law criminalizing private firearm sales forced some businesses to stop selling guns even though there is no discernible public safety benefit [from] the law," he said.
New Mexico's Democratic legislature, including Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, have argued that the legislation is simply meant to close gun-law loopholes and make firearm ownership accessible only to responsible people. Opposition, including the National Rifle Association, argues that the bills instead infringe on Second Amendment rights and will do little to prevent gun-related crime.
Debate over the effectiveness and constitutionality of the bills has bled into New Mexico's law enforcement. Last year, KRQE investigated how effective the law requiring background checks for private gun sales had been in its first year.
In the news station's reporting, the president of the New Mexico Sheriff's Association denounced the bill as "a law that's done absolutely nothing," while an Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson said that even one or two instances where a gun is kept out of the wrong hands will count the law as a win.
SB 5, the legislature's latest missile directed at firearms, has gun-ownership advocates frustrated.
"New Mexico's 'red-flag' gun-confiscation law, known as an 'extreme risk-protection order,' has many New Mexico gun owners worried they will be targeted for simply owning a gun," Fort said.
In a January column for the Santa Fe New Mexican, Fort raised concerns about the so-called "red flag" laws, calling into question the law's violation of an individual's right to due process as well as right to keep and bear arms.
Additionally, Fort pointed out in an Albuquerque Journal column that other states with "red flag" or "extreme risk" laws have faced opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The firearm outlook at the federal level may not be much better, according to Fort. He stated that among the federal gun laws, being that they are much more complex than those at the state level, some regulations make sense—such as prohibiting convicted violent felons from possessing a firearm—but there are many that have no practicality and no safety benefit.
"There are a lot of federal gun laws and regulations that should at least be revised if not completely eliminated," Fort said.
Fort says gun safety is a multifaceted problem that starts before someone attempts to obtain a firearm in a planned attacked against another person or people. The NMSSA president said "a lot of things have gone wrong" before someone has reached the point of having a firearm and plans to use it violently.
"We need more opportunities for people to break out of cycles of poverty or abuse that have ensnared so many New Mexico families," Fort said. "We also need a justice system that can intervene when someone is starting to behave in an erratic, violent manner and hold them accountable."
The majority of guns used in criminal activity were not obtained by the offender legally, Fort said, noting that criminals can find ways around any attempt by the legislature to restrict gun acquisition on paper. He said that New Mexico won't see a reprieve of its nation-leading crime rates, including property crime and homicide, until the issues behind the violence are addressed.
With the New Mexico Legislature's current leadership, is progress possible?
"The current leadership of New Mexico is unfortunately very driven by partisan ideology," Fort said, noting that the representatives in Santa Fe are increasingly ignoring the needs of rural New Mexico.
"They appear more concerned with how well something polls with their party nationally than what New Mexico actually needs," he said. "I agree with some things that are being done, but overall, I don't believe the path New Mexico's elected leaders have us on is the right one for our state."
Despite the political outlook, Fort encourages fellow New Mexicans to remember what makes the state great as summer gives way to fall.
"Green chilies being roasted at the start of the fall, the balloon fiesta happens each October," he said. "And our vast outdoor spaces look beautiful that time of year as hunting season gets under way."
