The New Mexico Sun recently followed up with Zac Fort, legislative affairs officer for the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (NMSSA), after lawmakers voted on proposed gun control bills at the recent legislative session.
The New Mexico Sun previously reported that multiple bills were introduced by Republicans to address out-of-control crime in the state this past legislative session, and Democrat lawmakers blocked every one of them, according to Larry Sonntag, Air Force veteran and Albuquerque Police Department retiree.
“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,” state Rep. Bill Rehm (R-Albuquerque) said in a press release, after the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee hearing.
Fort previously told the New Mexico Sun that there were a lot of “really bad bills" dealing with guns and gun ownership in Congress, including one that would require owners of semiautomatic rifles to register their weapon with the state. HB 101 was one of eight bills that Better Together New Mexico (BTNM) tried to change.
"There are a lot of bad bills in the Legislature this year, but HB 101 might be the worst," Fort said. "HB 101 has been through several different iterations so far," adding that sponsors Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) and Rep. Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe) keep making changes to the bill. Fort said in the bill's current form, "Anyone who didn't put their guns into the state registry would become a felon overnight."
Fort had said HB 100 is another measure that needs to be changed.
"This means that when you buy a gun and pass a background check, you would have to wait 14 days before you could take the gun home with you," he said. "It would be the longest waiting period in the country. Someone who needed a gun in an emergency situation would not be able to exercise their right to do so, if it passes."
HB 101 failed to pass this last session because of "an enormous outpouring of opposition to the bill from members of all parties and residents of every part of New Mexico," according to Fort. "Despite this, the governor has already stated she wants to try again on the bill during the 30 day budget session next year."
On the other hand, two gun bills passed this session. HB 9 will impose criminal penalties on a gun owner if a minor uses their firearm to commit a crime or injures themselves or others with the owner's gun. HB 306 duplicates federal straw purchase laws into state statute. Fort said that these bills wouldn't affect New Mexico gun owners and residents too dramatically.
"There is already a child endangerment statute on the books that prosecutors have used before to criminally charge parents or caregivers who are grossly negligent with firearms, resulting in injury to a child," Fort said. "The law doesn't mandate that firearms be stored in a safe, it just allows storing them in a safe to be used as a defense if a gun owner is charged with a crime under the new law. Straw purchases were already a crime under federal law; the new law just allows the state to charge someone with the same crime."
Fort went on to add that gun crime bills HB 59 and HB 61 were killed in the House Consumer and Public Affairs committee by the Democratic members of the committee.
"There were a few bills we supported that put the focus on reforming the New Mexico criminal justice system that is either unable or unwilling to hold violent criminals accountable," Fort said of HB 59 and HB 61.
Despite some bills being blocked this year, Fort reminds gun owners to remain vigilant to protect their rights.
"Gun owners need to know that while we defeated a lot of bad bills this year, they will be back again next year," Fort said. "This fight is a marathon, not a sprint. It's never too late to get involved, because this fight will be going on for sometime."
