Since 2013 New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence has passed into law:
* Background Checks
* The Benny Hargrove Safety Act
* Domestic violence firearms relinquishment
* Extreme Risk Protection Order
* Reoccurring Funding for Gun Violence Prevention
* Senate Memorial for Student Pledge Against Gun Violence
- Assault Weapons Ban
- Banning open and concealed carry in New Mexico
- Funding for research on gun violence prevention
- Ten day hold on the sale of handguns
- Closing the Charleston Loophole
- Raising the age of semi-automatic firearms to 21
NMPGV is working to help Giffords and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence to pass an Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) law in New Mexico. This important piece of legislation would allow family members and/or law enforcement to petition to a judge to temporarily remove a firearm from an individual in crisis.
Guns in homes are an extreme safety risk, especially to the health and well-being of young children. In 2016, we attempted to pass a Child Access Prevention Bill. It was filibustered in the first committee hearing room.
In 2019 we worked with youth and helped them draft another Child Access Prevention Bill. We helped train them on how to testify as well as organize a “Die in” with 400 students in the rotunda of the Capitol. Representative Linda Trujillo was their sponsor and the Governor has listed it as a priority. We hope to pass it during the 2021 legislative session
There is no purpose or benefit to the presence of guns in the building where lawmakers debate policy and consider new legislation. Not only is it unsafe, but it is difficult for people to attend legislative sessions or testify when they know there could be a loaded gun in the same room.
NMPGV has worked with legislators and testified in support of getting guns out of the Capitol building since 2013. In addition, we have written and published editorials and spoken on numerous radio shows, including the Mary Charlotte Show and the David Bacon show on KSFR, in order to educate the public about the dangers of guns in our capitol building.
New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence helped block four bills intended to weaken our Concealed Carry Laws. (New Mexico has some of the strictest concealed carry restrictions.) We worked to block an NRA-led national campaign to weaken state-level concealed carry permit laws. The NRA pushed to weaken state laws nationwide by promoting laws that would treat concealed carry permits like drivers’ licenses that are valid across all states. When we blocked these four bills in New Mexico, we helped to dismantle the whole national campaign.
Schools are safer when teachers are not armed. NMPGV will continue to monitor proposed legislation to make sure guns stay out of schools. Under current New Mexico law, guns are prohibited at elementary and secondary schools, including for individuals who may have a concealed carry permit. In the ongoing wake of school shootings, some are saying that teachers should be armed. We believe this will only make schools less safe, so NMPGV is committed to keeping New Mexico schools 100% gun-free.
In 2019 we passed to pass HB 129 with Linda Trujillo as the sponsor. This important piece of legislation closed an important loophole so that teachers and other staff could not carry a gun at school.
In 2019, we passed Senate Bill 328- the domestic violence firearms relinquishment bill. Senate Bill 328 was a stronger version of the previous bill that Governor Martinez vetoed. It requires domestic violence offenders under protective orders to relinquish their firearm while under the order. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed it into law.
We also helped to pass Senate bill 8. This important bill requires a background check at gun shows and private sellers. It had been a priority for us since 2013.
During this session, we celebrated the passage of Senate Bill 259. The bill was later vetoed by Governor Martinez, but that does not diminish the coalition we built or the awareness that we brought to the issue of guns in the hands of domestic violence offenders. This important piece of legislation would have prohibited misdemeanor domestic violence offenders under protective orders from being able to possess firearms. We worked with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and our stakeholder’s table included the Office of the Attorney General, District Attorney Jennifer Padgett, law enforcement, gun owners, domestic violence groups, staff from the House Majority Office and judges. The bill passed the House and Senate with strong bi-partisan support before being vetoed.
We spearheaded legislation to prohibit domestic violence offenders under protective orders to possess a firearm. We chose this important piece of legislation because of the high number of intimate partner homicides with a firearm that were occurring in New Mexico. We partnered with the Washington based group, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV). We began with a stakeholders table that included law enforcement, domestic violence groups, judges, attorneys, victims and the CSGV.
NMPGV succeeded in blocking every NRA bill during the 2017 session.
In 2016, NMPGV celebrated a major victory with the passage of House Bill 336. This bill requires New Mexico Courts to report mental health records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and makes New Mexico eligible for federal grant money to help support NICS. These mental health records are crucial in gun violence prevention, as suicide accounts for 68 percent of gun violence in New Mexico. The passage of this legislation was a four-year effort and marked a major step of the New Mexico legislature in preventing gun violence.
NMPGV succeeded in blocking every NRA bill the 2016 session.
In 2015, we continued to work closely with legislators to close the gun show loophole. We knew that with the Republican majority in the House, we did not have the vote, but that did not stop us. We filled the committee room with over fifty people, including peace activist John Dear, to testify for the bill. We outnumbered the opposition. Our very own board member, Dr. Jim Webster, was the expert witness for the bill, giving the committee detailed and well-researched testimony as to why the passage of House Bill 44 would make our state and country safer. Our testimony included the resolution we wrote with the Santa Fe City Council to support the bill. (The resolution was passed unanimously by the City of Santa Fe.)
Another major effort this session was the Senate Memorial to make October 22nd a Statewide Day to support the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence and A Statewide Day of Concern about Young People and Gun Violence.
New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence worked with Senator Nancy Rodriguez on this memorial. It passed unanimously in the Senate. Mary Lewis Grow (creator of the Student Pledge), Santa Fe Public School Board President, Steve Carrillo, and Miranda Viscoli were there to receive the memorial on the Senate floor. This memorial, coupled with the New Mexico School Board Association’s resolution to encourage all schools to support the pledge, is an important step in our ongoing efforts to implement the Student Pledge across New Mexico.
We continued our work to close the gun show loophole. We held a rally at the capitol with over one hundred people attending. The rally was co-sponsored by the City of Santa Fe. Speakers included Dr. Laurence Shandler, who spoke on behalf of the New Mexico Pediatrics Society, Police Chief Ray Rael, Rev. Dr. Harry Eberts, and many members of the interfaith community. At the end of the rally, over 70 supporters (with local news teams filming) took a petition with over 3,000 signatures to Governor Martinez’ office.
NMPGV participated on a Courts and Corrections panel where we presented a paper on the negative effects of gun shows not requiring background checks on all gun sales. (www.nmlegis.gov source)
NMPGV wants to take the thousands of unwanted working guns in New Mexico and turn them into shovels and spades for community gardens, but we need your help!