Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) signed two bills aimed at restricting gun usage in the state into law on Monday, months after she attempted to limit the right to carry firearms in most public places.
House Bill 129 (which extends the waiting period to purchase a firearm in the state to seven days) and Senate Bill 5 (which bans firearms within 100 feet of a polling place or ballot box) were both signed into law by the governor of New Mexico, alongside two other bills that increased penalties for violent crimes.
“This legislation strikes at the heart of issues that are keeping New Mexicans up at night,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement about the bills. “We are losing far too many lives when guns get into the wrong hands and violent criminals are allowed to recommit again and again. This legislation addresses both.”
The pieces of legislation come after Grisham attempted to suspend the right of open and concealed carry of firearms within Albuquerque and Bernalillo County via emergency powers through a public health emergency on gun violence. The order was struck down by a federal judge.
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The legislation barring firearms near polling places comes months before the state’s June 4 primary and the general election in November. New Mexico is not expected to be a competitive contest in the presidential election, having gone reliably for the Democrats since 2008.
Republican state Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca bashed the gun laws, specifically calling HB 129 the “removal of the constitutional rights of New Mexico” upon its advancement in the chamber. He also said that SB 5 was “attacking rights of law abiding citizens” rather than going after “the tide of crime gripping our state” in a statement in January.
