Facing dire consequences if anti-gun legislation made it through the legislature and went to gun-hating Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk for consideration, New Mexico gun owners dodged a bullet recently when two bad measures didn’t survive the legislative process.
One such measure, SB 318, attempted to allow attacks on gun makers and gun retailers by subverting the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Specifically, it would have expanded the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act to include firearms, parts and accessories, imposing severe penalties of $30,000 per violation and holding manufacturers, distributors and online platforms jointly liable for actions by third parties.
“It allows private lawsuits without proof of harm and grants sweeping authority to the Attorney General to pursue civil penalties,” NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action said in a news alert. “This overreach increases compliance costs, threatens lawful businesses with excessive litigation and raises serious constitutional and interstate commerce concerns, all while doing little to address criminal misuse of firearms.”
Fortunately for New Mexico gun owners, the measure was never taken up by the full senate.
Another measure, SB 279, would have banned gas-operated, semi-automatic rifles, along with firearms magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammo. Owners of such guns wanting to keep them would have to “certify” them with the government, creating a gun registry that could easily be used when and if the government later voted to confiscate those guns. That measure was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee but was never considered in the Senate Finance Committee.
For those readers who don’t remember Gov. Lujan Grisham, she’s the person who last year signed, then re-signed, an executive order banning the carry of firearms in public parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County under the auspices of public safety. That order resulted in a number of lawsuits by gun-rights groups.
Of course, Gov. Lujan Grisham wasn’t pleased that the two bills discussed above weren’t passed by the legislature and sent to her for her signature.
“While we made progress on universal free school lunch, literacy, water planning, and firefighting resources, I cannot ignore that we failed to adequately address the public safety crisis facing our state,” the governor said in a prepared statement. “With 270 public safety bills introduced this session and only a handful passed, we have not met our responsibility to New Mexicans.”
There’s no doubt that Gov. Lujan Grisham will continue to fight to further infringe on the Second Amendment rights of New Mexico’s lawful gun owners. As she said last year during the uproar over her Albuquerque carry ban, “No constitutional right, in my view … is intended to be absolute.”
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