SENATE DEMOCRATS NEWS RELEASE
The New Mexico State Senate today passed Senate Bill 17, the “Stop Illegal Gun Trade and Extremely Dangerous Weapons Act,” a measure designed to address the state’s gun violence crisis by regulating gun dealers to prevent weapons from reaching criminals.
The legislation, which now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration, comes at a critical time for New Mexico. In 2023 alone, 530 New Mexicans died by firearm violence: one person every 17 hours. The state has the fifth-highest gun death rate in the nation at 25.3 per 100,000 residents. Gun homicides in New Mexico have surged 192% over the last decade, and firearms were the leading cause of death among young people ages 1-17 in 2023.
“Gun violence is a public health emergency in our state, and we cannot stand by while our communities are torn apart,” said Senator Debbie O’Malley, a primary sponsor of the legislation. “This bill targets the illegal gun trade pipeline that is fueling violence across our state. This is not an out-of-state problem. It’s a supply chain problem, and we have the power to address it. Senate Bill 17 will help cut off the supply chain that puts guns in the hands of criminals while respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.”
A recent Everytown for Gun Safety report revealed that New Mexico has an outsized problem with gun trafficking. The data showed that in 2023, law enforcement recovered and traced 4,847 crime guns across New Mexico, with 77% originally sold by dealers within the state. More than 56% of these crime guns were recovered within 10 miles of the dealer that sold them, and nearly half were purchased less than three years before recovery, a key indicator of trafficking.
Senate Bill 17 takes a multi-faceted approach to addressing gun violence by requiring federally licensed firearm dealers to maintain enhanced security measures such as surveillance systems and alarms, keep detailed sales and inventory records, report thefts promptly, and conduct employee background checks with a minimum hiring age of 21. The bill particularly targets “straw purchases,” when someone buys a gun legally and then sells it to someone prohibited from owning firearms.
“A known straw purchaser has made hundreds of purchases in stores, including purchasing an AK-47, supplying guns to teens, including a 15-year-old at West Mesa,” said Senator Heather Berghmans, a co-sponsor of the bill. “These are not stolen hunting rifles or guns taken from unlocked nightstands. We’re talking about a retail-to-street pipeline, guns sold legally and then trafficked into the criminal market. This legislation will help prevent that.”
The bill also prohibits the sale of certain high-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, .50 caliber rifles, and machine guns. It extends federal training on identifying straw purchase red flags, such as bulk gun purchases, beyond store owners to all employees on the sales floor.
New Mexico faces disproportionate impacts from gun violence in specific communities. The state has the highest gun homicide rate among Hispanic/Latino people in the country, with this population three times more likely to die by gun homicide than their white counterparts. In 2022, 60% of New Mexico’s domestic violence-related homicides involved firearms.
The legislation has garnered support from gun safety advocates, law enforcement officials, and survivors of gun violence, who testified before Senate committees about the urgent need for action.
Senate Bill 17 now proceeds to the House of Representatives for consideration.