New Mexico’s Senate just greenlit SB 17, a sweeping assault weapons ban that casts its net over popular semi-automatic rifles like AR-15s, AK-pattern firearms, and even some hunting configs, while slapping restrictions on standard-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) is sounding the alarm, blasting the bill as a retailer-crushing nightmare that piles on compliance costs and legal headaches without a shred of evidence it’ll dent violent crime. They’re spot on—studies from places like the Cato Institute and FBI data consistently show these bans target law-abiding owners while criminals, by definition, ignore the rules. New Mexico’s already grappling with sky-high homicide rates in cities like Albuquerque, where gang violence and soft-on-crime policies are the real culprits, not your neighbor’s range toy.
Dig deeper, and SB 17 reeks of the same failed playbook we’ve seen in California, New York, and Maryland: vague definitions that ensnare innocuous pistols with threaded barrels or adjustable stocks, forcing gun shops into a bureaucratic gauntlet of serialization, registration, and endless audits. Retailers face felony risks for selling banned features, potentially shuttering small businesses overnight—think of it as economic warfare on the Second Amendment ecosystem. CCRKBA’s pushback highlights the hypocrisy: proponents peddle fear with mass shooting stats, ignoring how these weapons are used in a tiny fraction of crimes (per the DOJ, rifles overall are just 3% of murders). This isn’t safety; it’s incremental erosion, priming the pump for outright confiscation via buybacks.
For the 2A community, the implications are crystal clear—New Mexico could join the growing roster of free state turncoats, chilling interstate commerce and migration for gun owners. But here’s the silver lining: Senate passage is just step one; the House and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (a gun-control cheerleader) still need to sign off, giving CCRKBA, the NRA, and grassroots warriors time to flood capitol switchboards. Rally up, hit the emails, and support legal challenges—bans like this have crumbled in courts post-Bruen (e.g., Maryland’s implosion). This fight isn’t just about New Mexico; it’s a bellwether for red-flag states nationwide. Stay vigilant, armed, and vocal—our rights depend on it.
