The New Mexico legislature is considering what appears to be an unconstitutional bill, SB17. The bill creates considerable red tape and record-keeping requirements for gun dealers. It also bans the sale of numerous common firearms by simply requiring that dealers be forbidden to process background checks for those firearms. New Mexico requires dealers to run background checks for nearly all firearm sales.
Excerpts of the bill from nmlegis.gov:
A. Beginning on July 1, 2026, a dealer shall not sell or transfer any of the following firearms, ammunition or devices to a person who is not licensed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 923, nor shall a dealer process a background check pursuant to Section 30-7-7.1 NMSA 1978 for the transfer of any of the following firearms, ammunition and devices between parties that are not licensed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 923;
(1) a detachable magazine that holds more than ten rounds of ammunition;…
(4) a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm that can accept a detachable magazine;
(5) a gas-operated semiautomatic firearm with a fixed magazine that holds more than ten rounds of ammunition;
SB17 has seven sponsors as of this writing. There are six women and one man. Senators Micaelita Debbie O’Malley, Andrea Romero, Heather Berghmans, Charlotte Little, Patricia Roybal Caballero, and Peter Wirth. They are all members of the Democratic Party. Senator Peter Wirth is the Majority Floor Leader. Republicans in the New Mexico House are asking the federal Department of Justice for help.
New Mexico House Republicans on Wednesday in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice asked Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to carefully review SB17 and offer guidance on its constitutionality.
“Among other provisions, SB17 would prohibit the sale and transfer of semiautomatic firearms in common use, ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds, and outlaw entire classes of firearms based on operating mechanisms rather than criminal misuse,” the letter, signed by 26 New Mexico House Republicans, says. “At a time when New Mexico faces one of the highest crime rates in the nation, SB17 does nothing to target violent offenders. Instead, it imposes sweeping bans on law-abiding citizens, firearm dealers and sportsmen.”
Both the Attorney General of New Mexico and the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys of New Mexico recognize that there will be legal challenges to the portions of the bill that ban the sale of firearms and magazines with more than 10 rounds.
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) claims the odds are that the bans would be upheld in the courts. DPS estimates a one-time cost of about $874,000 to build systems and recurring costs of about $1.6 million annually to enforce the provisions of the SB17. This correspondent did not find an estimate of the costs of defending the constitutionality of the bill in the courts.
The bill may face challenges based on the New Mexico state constitution. From NM Const art II § 6:
No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms. (As amended November 2, 1971 and November 2, 1986.)
SB17 has not been voted on at present. The New Mexico Senate has 26 Democratic members and 16 Republican members. The House of Representatives has 44 Democratic members and 26 Republican members.
Gun control has not been a highly popular issue in the state. SB17 may be amended in committee.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
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