TODAY at 1:30pm or 15 minutes after the House floor session, the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee will consider House Bill 9 by Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-ABQ), legislation that creates civil fines and misdemeanor penalties for parents or guardians whose minors gain unauthorized access to their firearms (except in the case of burglary). It also contains a provision that would allow parents to take other parents to court to impose the $1,000 fine on them if they allege that a minor gained access to their firearms.
There is no educational or community outreach component to this effort, such as NRA's Eddie Eagle child accident prevention program or the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Project ChildSafe firearms safety kit giveaways. New Mexico already has laws on the books to hold adults accountable for endangering a child. (NMSA Section 30-6-1, New Mexico’s Child Abuse/Abandonment statute). Under the law, it is a felony for a responsible person to knowingly, intentionally, or negligently, and without justifiable cause, cause or permit a child to be placed in a situation that may endanger the child’s life or health. Prosecutors have the tools, in appropriate cases, to hold parents, guardians or other custodians of children accountable when a child gains unauthorized access to a firearm and commits a crime or injures himself or someone else.
NRA members and New Mexico gun owners are encouraged to participate in this committee hearing via Zoom (details are provided below) and to contact the members of those committees and let your opinion on this measure be known!
Please click the link below to join the Zoom hearing:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82353539692
Or One tap mobile : US: +16699009128,,82353539692# or +12532158782,,82353539692#
Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799
Webinar ID: 823 5353 9692
On Wednesday, Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-ABQ) filed House Bill 156, legislation which makes it a felony to possess, use, manufacture, import, purchase, sell, loan, borrow or transfer a magazine or similar device capable of holding more than fifteen rounds of ammunition in this state. This restrictive measure contains no grandfather clause for currently- and lawfully-owned magazines. It was deemed germane to the budget session because the author included a $1.5 million appropriation to the New Mexico Department of Safety to "administer" this ban if it becomes law.
NRA-ILA will alert you as to when HB 156 is set for committee hearing, but in the meantime please contact your State Representatives and urge them to OPPOSE this legislation!
Lastly, House Bill 68, by Rep. Meredith Dixon (D-ABQ), an omnibus crime bill which contains language that bans the possession of firearms within 1,000 feet of a school, was pulled from the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee agenda earlier this week. We understand that revisions are being made to the legislation and it is now scheduled to be heard again on Saturday, January 29. We will share more details with you as they become available.
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