A coalition of gun-advocacy organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging New Mexico’s recently-introduced waiting period on new firearm sales.
According to Searchlight New Mexico, the lawsuit challenges provisions of House Bill 219, which establishes a “cooling off period” for firearms sales and threatens criminal penalties for potential offenders.
The firearm industry-led complaint was filed shortly after a federal judge found that New Mexico could not enforce its new rules against two residents who filed suit shortly after House Bill 219 took effect. Last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state Attorney General Raul Torrez indicated that they were planning to appeal the decision.
“It would be unconscionable to allow this blatantly unconstitutional law to be enforced and infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Mexicans,” said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “The burden is on the state to demonstrate that this unconstitutional law is consistent with a national tradition of imposing waiting periods before taking possession of a firearm, something the state was unable to do in the prior lawsuit. NSSF will not stand idly by and allow New Mexico to continue to knowingly trample on its citizens’ Second Amendment rights.”
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is one of several organizations opposing New Mexico’s new law. The National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation, along with a number of firearm retailers and distributors, are named as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“Under New Mexico’s law, nearly all prospective firearm purchasers must wait seven calendar days before taking possession of a firearm, even if they pass a background check immediately,” the National Rifle Association said on its website. “The law imposes an arbitrary “cooling-off” period that is unrelated to determining whether a purchaser is legally eligible to possess a firearm. Violating the law is a misdemeanor for both the buyer and the seller.”
Both the NSSF and the NRA have said that New Mexico erred by interpreting the 10th Circuit Court’s decision to mean that only the two plaintiffs in those cases should be at least temporarily exempted from the new waiting period. Instead, the plaintiffs argue, the court’s ruling should be applied to all prospective purchasers until the ruling is either lifted or the lawsuit resolved.
“Despite these rulings, New Mexico officials have maintained that the state may continue enforcing the law against everyone except the two plaintiffs in Ortega,” the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action said. “The state has also threatened criminal enforcement against firearms retailers and purchasers who fail to comply with the waiting period. The new lawsuit seeks to stop this continued enforcement of a law the Tenth Circuit has already held unconstitutional.”
The state of New Mexico has declined to comment on the lawsuit, with spokespersons for both Torrez and Grisham’s offices saying they have yet to be served.
Sources
Gun rights groups file new federal lawsuit challenging New Mexico waiting period
NRA Files (Another) Lawsuit Challenging New Mexico’s 7-Day Waiting Period Law
NSSF Seeks Injunction to Block New Mexico’s Seven-Day Waiting Period Law While Being Challenged
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