Proposed assault weapon ban set to reignite gun safety debate at Roundhouse

SANTA FE — The fight over firearm restrictions is set to be rekindled at the Roundhouse.

Two first-term Democratic senators from Albuquerque — Debbie O’Malley and Heather Berghmans — filed a bill last week that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, with certain exemptions.

The proposal, Senate Bill 279, is similar to legislation proposed during each of the last two years that stalled at the state Capitol in the face of fierce Republican opposition.

During a Thursday rally at the Capitol, backers of the measure spoke about their personal losses due to gun-involved crimes.

“We may live in fear of being shot in school or in public, but we have the power to change this reality,” said Bo Wilson, a University of New Mexico student affiliated with a national gun safety group.

Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, who is a co-sponsor of this year’s proposal, told a group of roughly 60 people it would ensure “weapons of war” are no longer easily accessible in New Mexico communities.

The rally took place on the same day the House of Representatives unanimously approved a memorial recognizing homicide victims and their families.

The memorial was sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Rep. Nicole Chavez, R-Albuquerque, whose son was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2015.

New Mexico has one of the nation’s highest firearm fatality rates, at 27.3 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2022, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

However, pro-gun groups have argued a New Mexico assault weapon ban would be found unconstitutional.

Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, said the measure would effectively disarm lawful gun owners.

“Not only will this law make countless New Mexicans felons — especially in the most vulnerable populations — but it will drag the state into costly litigation,” Block told the Journal. “Go after criminals, not inanimate objects and law-abiding gun owners.”

The Democratic-controlled Legislature has already approved several new laws in recent years dealing with firearms restrictions. Those measures include requiring expanded background checks, establishing a seven-day waiting period to purchase a firearm and allowing guns to be temporarily seized from individuals deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others.

The seven-day waiting period law was challenged in court after taking effect, but a federal judge last year refused to grant an order that would have barred enforcement of the law.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has supported the push for firearm restrictions, and issued an emergency order in 2023 that suspended the right to carry guns at public parks and playgrounds in the Albuquerque metro area.

That order was rescinded last year after a flurry of lawsuits and court orders.