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Posted on 02/05/2026 2:26:22 PM PST by CedarDave
A sweeping gun control proposal that critics say represents one of the most extreme assaults on the Second Amendment in New Mexico history is now headed to the Senate floor.
Senate Bill 17, which would ban the sale of a broad range of semi-automatic firearms and impose heavy new mandates on federally licensed gun dealers, advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday night on a 6–3 party-line vote. An effort to strip out the bill’s semi-automatic firearm and standard-capacity magazine bans failed on a 4–5 vote, clearing the way for the legislation to move forward in largely intact form.
Under SB 17, the sale of commonly owned rifles such as AR-15s and AK-style firearms would be prohibited, despite their widespread lawful use for self-defense, sporting, and training purposes. The bill also introduces a new regulatory regime for gun dealers that includes employee age and background check requirements, detailed inventory and sales tracking mandates, and expanded security obligations—violations of which could result in criminal penalties.
Supporters framed the bill as a public safety measure. Rep. Andrea Romero, a Democrat from Santa Fe and a co-sponsor of the legislation, claimed the proposal merely asks firearms retailers to act responsibly.
“This bill will simply ask gun dealers to do what responsible business owners already do: secure their inventory, train their employees, track their sales and stop selling military-grade weapons designed for mass casualties,” Romero said.
Gun rights advocates and Republicans strongly disagreed, warning that the bill tramples constitutional protections and targets law-abiding citizens rather than criminals.
“We’ve seen a history in New Mexico passing some unconstitutional laws sent back to the state. And I predict this is going to be much like that. I’m not a lawyer, but I can read,” said Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte.
Even some Democratic lawmakers acknowledged the bill’s legal vulnerability. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, conceded the firearm ban portion could be struck down in court, but said she would still vote for it as a “very important policy.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, echoed concerns he previously raised about the constitutionality of banning specific firearms. Nevertheless, he voted in favor of the bill, citing support for the dealer regulation provisions.
Opposition testimony came from gun owners, Second Amendment advocacy groups, and elected law enforcement officials, including the sheriffs of Roosevelt and Guadalupe counties. National Shooting Sports Foundation warned the proposal would make exercising constitutional rights in New Mexico “impossible for citizens to achieve.”
The National Rifle Association also opposed the bill, alongside numerous small business owners who said the measure would drive gun dealers out of the state.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Justice raised red flags in a memo to lawmakers, warning that SB 17 is likely to trigger litigation if enacted. Attorneys noted that a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision places the burden squarely on the government to prove that gun restrictions are consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
The memo further cautioned that SB 17’s definition of “gas-operated firearm” may be far broader than supporters claim, potentially sweeping in commonly owned handguns used for self-defense, including models from Smith & Wesson, Walther, and Desert Eagle.
In response, New Mexico House Republicans sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting a formal opinion on SB 17’s constitutionality, citing comments from Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon questioning similar weapon bans in other states.
The New Mexico Shooting Sports Association summarized the committee action bluntly, noting that SB 17 advanced on a 6–3 vote and that efforts to remove the semi-automatic firearm and magazine bans were defeated. The group warned the bill now poses a direct threat to the civil rights of lawful gun owners statewide.
As Jim Townsend, R-Artesia, put it, SB 17 is “if not one of the most contentious, the most contentious bill” of the session—a sign that the coming Senate floor debate will be as legally fraught as it is politically explosive.
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Surely the cartels will give theirs up.
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Maybe we should propose a long list of speech items you can’t say in the US. Things like the Muslim call to prayer, quoting Karl Marx, supporting Palestinians: things like that. Just write a law that makes all that stuff illegal to talk about.
Pass the law, take it up to the Supreme Court and see if there is any sort of Constitutional protection for free speech and things that Constitution says “shall not be infringed”.
New Mexico is a shit hole state that needs to burn. There’s only some nice scenery there, but it’s a crime-ridden death zone and is only getting worse.
Burn NM, BURN
Yep. Wait to see what happens if they get total power back.
They have sat on their butts and refused to enforce their own rulings ever since.
No difference between a semi-auto Remington Model 8, A Winchester 1907, an AR-15s and AK-style firearms. All shoot the same speed. Only LOOKS makes a difference.
Anti gun radicals are hoping for a scare tactic to get such laws passed. Nelson “Pete” Shields of the Hand gun control Inc told how to do it, one step at a time.
He wanted to ban handguns. Now the group is also after rifles.
Nelson T. ‘Pete’ Shields
Founder of Handgun Control, Inc.
“I’m convinced that we have to have federal legislation to build on. We’re going to have to take one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily — given the political realities — going to be very modest.
Of course, it’s true that politicians will then go home and say, ‘This is a great law. The problem is solved.’ And it’s also true that such statements will tend to defuse the gun-control issue for a time.
So then we’ll have to strengthen that law, and then again to strengthen that law, and maybe again and again. Right now, though, we’d be satisfied not with half a loaf but with a slice. Our ultimate goal — total control of handguns in the United States — is going to take time.
My estimate is from seven to ten years. The problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns sold in this country. The second problem is to get them all registered. And the final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition — except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors — TOTALLY ILLEGAL.”
-Pete Shields, Chairman and founder, Handgun Control Inc., “A Reporter At Large: Handguns,” The New Yorker, July 26, 1976, 57-58
“Yes, I’m for an outright ban [on handguns].”
-Pete Shields, Chairman emeritus, Handgun Control, Inc., 60 Minutes interview
HCI, around 1984, made a grab for the semi-auto rifles and shotguns, and missed. Then Josh Sugarmann tuned in. This has been the mantra ever since.
“ Assault weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully-automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons —anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun— can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons.”
– Josh Sugarmann
We really need a law that allows those impacted to sue legislators when their legislation is struck down as completely unconstitutional.
If I returned to New Mexico, my HOME State, with what I had when I lived there in 1975 I would be considered a criminal in my own home without committing any crime.
Instead I have to live in a state I do not care to live in, but due to Republican governorship over the last few decades it is now more livable than New Mexico.
Why the rush for more gun control law since TRUMP has caused the murder rate to fall to the lowest level since 1900. That is 125 years!
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Too bad we can’t ban Democrats.
When they are caught Spay & Neuter!!!
Lets just cut to the chase and ban all currently registered democrats as domestic terrorists. And disarm every last one of them, too. Since they’re registered, it shouldn’t be too hard to enforce the ban; except for the dead registered democrats, of course.
“Why the rush for more gun control law since TRUMP has caused the murder rate to fall to the lowest level since 1900. That is 125 years!”
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Because gun control isn’t about crime, it’s about control. They are trying to set the stage for when they. (the Democrats/Communists) have enough power to actually do something about this. They want the laws in place so that they can start on day one. Again, it’s all about control, the crime rate could be zero and they would still want guns banned.
This is coming from Globalist busy bodies because even rank and file Democrats are all telling each other to stock up.
I’m getting pretty sick and tired of SCOTUS sitting on their asses on all the anti 2nd Amendment cases they’ve had there for several years. They need to sh** or get off the pot. Their waiting around is gonna get us really screwed.
You surely mean the Albuquerque Urinal. Not sure prayers will help you guys. But, just in case 🙏.
Come take them SOBs!!! We’ll make your antifa temper tantrums look like a Somali and Bug Bunny Puerto Rican landfill.
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