"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." This famous quote is an apt description of how New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham and the New Mexico Legislature have approached New Mexico's crime crisis.

Since her first session in 2019, Michelle Lujan Grisham has willfully turned a blind eye to criminals and a criminal justice system that is either unwilling or unable to hold violent criminals accountable. Instead of targeting those currently committing crimes, the governor and legislature has attempted to turn peaceful, freedom-loving New Mexicans into criminals through new laws that make it harder to exercise your right to defend yourself and your family.

This approach has been replicated every session since 2019. The results have been tragic and deadly. Violent crime has soared in New Mexico. Albuquerque has seen multiple years of record homicides. Restricting your right to defend yourself while simultaneously abdicating their responsibility for public safety has become the standard for politicians in Santa Fe.

As the 2025 New Mexico Legislative Session starts in Santa Fe, our leaders have a choice. They can once again plan to repeat their failures of targeting our rights and ignoring criminals who act with impunity. Or they can chart a new path, one where individual liberty is respected and criminals are held accountable. In 2025, let's forge a new path for New Mexico.

Josh Groseclose is the President of the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association