It also tacked on an amendment to exempt concealed carry handgun licensees from having to wait for a week to possess their new firearm.
Other than the concealed carry permit holder, every firearm purchaser in New Mexico would be required to sit for a week even after they cleared the FBI background check. As the National Rifle Association rightly noted, this will not reduce crime or prevent a person from harming themselves as proponents claim.
It is yet another roadblock thrown into the path of law-abiding citizens seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
The New Mexico House last week debated and approved House Bill 129 on a narrow 37-33 vote. It marked the second state bill to clear the House and proceed to the upper chamber.
Lawmakers siding with constitutional rights spoke out vehemently against the measure. Rep. Stefani Lord (R) of Sandia Park chastised her colleagues for targeting the wrong people in their mad dash to suppress gun rights.
“You keep coming for us and never criminals,” she charged.
However, proponents of gun control carried the day even though multiple lawmakers from both political parties lined up in opposition. Those who opposed the new overreach attempted to stall the debate as long as possible, but they were thwarted.
After three hours, a “call of the House” was issued. This sent aides scrambling to find legislators as all must be present for the vote. Doors of the chamber are locked to ensure everyone’s participation, and the contentious bill subsequently passed.
If it clears the full Senate, which is likely, it will certainly be signed into law by anti-gun Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D).
