Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
From the Office of the Governor:
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement late today after the New Mexico House approved Senate Bill 8, a common-sense public safety measure that will expand background checks on firearm sales, closing loopholes used by individuals with dangerous histories.
The Senate approved the legislation on Feb. 14.
One of several important gun safety measures introduced during this legislative session, Senate Bill 8 is a step toward ensuring safe and proper firearm ownership in the state. Background checks, as legislators have noted, will achieve protective effects against lethal violence and are overwhelmingly popular in this state and beyond.
“Background checks are a baseline,” Lujan Grisham said. “We have a long way to go in curbing gun violence in New Mexico, but I know, and I’m glad lawmakers agree, background checks are a smart, effective, minimally invasive and constitutional safeguard that can help us begin to turn the tide. No responsible gun-owner in New Mexico has anything to fear, despite the misinformation critics have spread about this gun safety proposal and others. This legislation represents a simple yet meaningful step toward a state and society with fewer firearm fatalities, and I thank the sponsors and advocates who have put their voices and hearts into seeing it through.”
