New Mexico Rep. Bill Rehm (R-Albuquerque) is among those not happy a package of GOP legislation addressing the rising crime rate in the state was recently tabled by Democrats on the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.
Five bills were sponsored by Rehm, a former narcotics officer, who joined other Republicans wanting to increase penalties for violent crime, drug trafficking, theft, gun and drug possession.
“Today the progressives made clear that they are unwilling to lock up felons with illegal firearms, but they are willing to make felons out of law-abiding gun owners,” Rehm posted on his Facebook page on Jan. 31. “Just days ago, we joined the governor in her office, with statewide media, for productive talks about bipartisan action against crime, and today’s disappointing votes reveal that House Democrats on the House Consumer & Public Affairs committee care little about improving public safety in meaningful ways. These political tactics are highly frustrating to the many victims of crime that spend their personal time advocating in Santa Fe for a safer New Mexico.”
New Mexico Rep. Bill Rehm (R)
| Facebook/Rep. Bill Rehm
The five bills blocked by Democrats — House Bills 61, 60, 59, 58 and 57 — were sponsored by Rehm, a former narcotics officer, and a group of largely GOP cosponsors. They were aimed at increasing penalties for violent crime in New Mexico and drug trafficking.
According to Carlsbad Current Argus, among the bills backed by Rehm and denied by Democrats: HB 60 would have increased legal penalties for possession of fentanyl, initiating a scale of prison sentences based on how much of the drug was possessed. HB 59 would have made possessing a gun during drug trafficking a third-degree felony. And HB 57 would have granted immunity from legal penalties relating to damage or injury for merchants who catch shoplifters.
Democrats against the bills said judges already have options that would accomplish what Rehm was intending and argued that enforcing stricter penalties would not necessarily deter criminals. They suggested the state invest more in mental health and behavioral health treatment, including for substance use disorder, to help stem violent crime.
Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) told Rehm his bill aimed at enhancing criminal penalties for fentanyl possession “doesn’t address the root of the problem for me,” according to NM Political Report. She did not see a connection between the penalties his bill would impose and “what we can do to reduce the harm caused by fentanyl.”
Rehm disagrees based on his 20 years working with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
“Criminals who spent a lot of time in prison didn’t want to go back,” he told NM Political Report.
A woman who lost her 4-year-old son to a drive-by shooting in Albuquerque supports one of Rehm’s bills.
“I believe New Mexico has lost enough children under the age of 18,” she said, according to NM Political Report.