New Mexico’s Senate Judiciary Committee gathered recently to figure out how much latitude they had to regulate guns after last year’s bombshell Second Amendment ruling from the Supreme Court.
Most sounded confused. Some seemed unaware that the laws they passed might not hold up in court if a similar regulation hadn’t been on the books in the 18th century. One lawmaker called the ruling “mind-boggling.” Another asked whether their authority was now limited to regulating firearms “where you have to manually load the gunpowder.”
New Mexico’s legislative session last month opened with gun reform high on the agenda. After a string of politically motivated shootings at the homes of Democratic legislators in Albuquerque, Gov. Michelle Luján Grisham (D) called for a series of firearm restrictions, including an assault weapons ban, in her State of the State speech in January.
Three variations of the AR-15 assault rifle are displayed at the California Department of Justice in Sacramento, California.
But with a week left to go before the session ends, lawmakers are cautiously approaching gun bills and are wary of passing laws that will run afoul of a Supreme Court that has taken a firm stance on the side of gun rights. The legislature is likely to pass some gun reform before the session ends, but lawmakers say an assault weapons ban would be unlikely to hold up in court, and they’re uncertain about a proposal to raise the age to buy some types of firearms from age 18 to 21.
“What I hope we don’t do is lead the public into believing we’re doing something, knowing full well that what we’re doing is unlikely to really have an effect,” Joseph Cervantes, the state Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, said at the hearing last month. “I think that’s a disservice to people.”
The flagging reform push in New Mexico highlights how the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, which overturned a narrow provision of New York’s concealed carry law, isn’t just overturning gun restrictions ― it’s also blocking them from passing in the first place.
“That Bruen ruling is going to hurt us for decades to come,” said Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence. “It’s going to be the excuse of every conservative Democrat who doesn’t want to pass common-sense gun laws.”
— Roque Planas in How This Supreme Court Ruling Is Already Affecting Gun Reform In A Blue State
