New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence (NMPGV) conducted a gun buyback program last weekend that apparently violated requirements for a federal background check. This was accomplished by going door to door offering gift cards of $100 or more for unwanted weapons.
The move did not sit well with San Juan County Sheriff R. Shane Ferrari (R), particularly since the original buyback effort was canceled by local authorities due to public backlash.
Incredibly, NMPGV organizers claimed the buyback drive did not align with the legal definition of a firearm transfer. Why? They said they dismantle guns that they collect in exchange for gift cards.
Sheriff Ferrari disagreed. In a Monday Facebook post, he announced pending action from his department. “I want to inform you that I am investigating “San Juan County citizens’ complaints on New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence’s gun buyback program not complying with New Mexico State Law 30-7-7.1 ‘Unlawful sale of a firearm without a background check.’”
The group is also under fire for how they “dismantle” the weapons they procure. An image posted on X, formerly Twitter, showed a firearm simply being sawed in half. This leaves most critical gun parts intact.
The gun control organization initially planned to have a public buyback event in the city of Farmington. But residents were not happy with this anti-Second Amendment drive, and officials canceled it last Thursday.
That was apparently when NMPGV decided the better option was to go house to house with their gift cards.
But they should have known better. After all, they promoted and still support a 2019 New Mexico law signed by controversial Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D). This mandated that a federal background check be performed on any firearm transaction involving transfer of ownership.
Private deals were not excluded. The only exemptions were for law enforcement, valid federal firearms licensees and transactions involving immediate family members.
The actions by the gun control group obviously do not fall into the exempt category, as Sheriff Ferrari noted on Facebook.
“Reviewing the law, I do not see where they are exempt from having to undergo a background check and are required to like anyone else. A sale is taking place, it is advertised as a purchase and called a ‘buy back.’”
Many defenders of Second Amendment rights agree.
Military Arms wrote on X, “You exchanged an item with value (gift card) in exchange for the firearms without a background check which is illegal under NM state law. You’re out there advocating for antigun laws all the while you’re breaking antigun laws.”
New Mexico state Rep. Stefani Lord (R) concurred. “The statute defines a ‘sale’ as ‘the delivery or passing of ownership, possession or control of a firearm for a fee or other consideration,’ where ‘consideration’ means ‘anything of value exchanged between the parties to a sale.’ A failure to comply is a crime.”
In its report on the New Mexico controversy, The Reload noted other instances where gun control advocates ran afoul of the very laws they advocated for.
David Gregory, an NBC News anchor, was almost arrested for brandishing a 30-round magazine on the air in 2012. The segment asked why these were not already illegal when in fact they were prohibited where he was filmed.
Four years later, a Katie Couric production pushing for more stringent gun laws was investigated for purchasing pistols across state lines in a private transaction.
Later that same year, a report was filed with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) over a CBS news correspondent being untruthful as to her purpose for purchasing a weapon while she was working undercover.
Apparently, New Mexico’s gun control zealots may now be added to that infamous list.
