New Mexico gun owners recently dodged a big bullet when the legislative session adjourned before gun-ban advocates could gain approval for a sweeping ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines.” The failure of Senate Bill 17 was cheered by pro-gun advocates and jeered by gun-ban supporters.
As background, SB 17 would have banned common gas-operated semi-automatic firearms, .50-caliber rifles virtually never used in crimes and firearm magazines holding more than 10 rounds under the guise of labeling them all “extremely dangerous weapons.” The measure had passed the state Senate by a 21-17 vote, with all Republican senators and three Democrats voting against the bill, but stalled in the House.
Now, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearm industry trade association, is warning gun owners in the Land of Enchantment that gun-ban advocates will be coming at them again hard and fast in the near future.
In a news item posted on the NSSF website, Larry Keane wrote that while the battle was won, the war for Second Amendment freedom in New Mexico is just beginning.
“For gun owners, retailers and manufacturers, the takeaway is clear,” Keane wrote. “This year was a victory, but the policy push did not disappear. It will most likely be back with revised language and the same underlying objective: restrict access to commonly owned firearms and standard capacity magazines by regulating the lawful marketplace and redefining ordinary products as uniquely ‘dangerous.’”
As Keane pointed out, supporters of S.B. 17 sold it as a bill to crack down on illegal gun trafficking.
“In reality, it combined two longstanding gun control goals in one vehicle: expanding state-level mandates on federally licensed firearm retailers and prohibiting the sale of constitutionally protected firearms and magazines through a newly created ‘extremely dangerous weapons’ definition,” he wrote.
While the bill, if passed, would have been a disaster for small firearm retailers, it was equally punitive to lawful gun owners.
“For New Mexico gun owners, the bill’s ‘extremely dangerous weapons’ language was the most consequential policy choice,” Keane wrote. “It was aimed directly at banning the future sale of all standard capacity magazines and semi-automatic centerfire rifles that use detachable magazines. That is not a targeted enforcement approach focused on criminal misuse. It is a policy designed to reduce lawful access by restricting what can be sold through lawful channels.”
Ultimately, Keane wrote that gun-ban advocates’ talking points about “assault weapons,” “weapons of war” and “crime guns” were designed to mislead the public.
“When lawmakers rely on shaky narratives, the policy tends to miss the target,” Keane concluded. “Instead of focusing on violent offenders and the networks that feed them, the burden is shifted to lawful citizens and lawful commerce.
“What the state does not need is another round of bans and bureaucratic traps that fall hardest on the people who already follow the law.”
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