New Mexico Assault Weapon Ban One Step Closer to Reality

February 12, 2026
11:30 am

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New Mexico's latest assault on the Second Amendment just cleared a major hurdle, with HB 124—the so-called assault weapons ban—sailing through committee on a party-line vote amid fireworks that could light up the Rio Grande. Proponents waved the bloody shirt of mass shootings, ignoring mountains of data showing that so-called assault weapons (a media-invented term for scary-looking semi-autos) are used in a tiny fraction of crimes—less than 3% per FBI stats. Critics, including ranchers, hunters, and everyday carriers, rightly blasted it as feel-good theater that won't stop criminals who don't obey laws anyway. This isn't legislation; it's theater designed to virtue-signal while disarming law-abiding New Mexicans who rely on AR-15s for home defense, varmint control, and Olympic-style competition shooting. Dig deeper, and the context reeks of political opportunism. New Mexico's Dem supermajority, fresh off flipping the state purple, is mimicking blue-state playbooks from California to New York, where similar bans have done zilch to reduce violence but crushed small manufacturers and spiked black-market prices. Remember Illinois' FOID card fiasco or Maryland's mag ban lawsuits? Both are crumbling under SCOTUS scrutiny post-Bruen, which demands historical tradition for gun laws—something this bill hilariously lacks, as Founding-era analogs to modern rifles were the muskets of their day. The NRA and local groups like NM Shooters are already gearing up for court, and with whispers of gubernatorial support from Michelle Lujan Grisham, expect this to hit the House floor soon. For the 2A community, this is a wake-up call: complacency kills. New Mexico gun owners need to flood capitol switchboards, pack hearings, and bankroll recalls or ballot initiatives. Nationally, it underscores the patchwork assault on our rights—win here, and it emboldens the bans in Colorado or Minnesota; lose, and it sets precedents for red states under siege. Stock up on compliant builds if you're in NM, join GOA or FPC for the legal wars, and remember: the real assault is on your God-given right to self-defense. Stay vigilant, patriots—this fight's just heating up.

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New Mexico’s latest assault on the Second Amendment just cleared a major hurdle, with HB 124—the so-called assault weapons ban—sailing through committee on a party-line vote amid fireworks that could light up the Rio Grande. Proponents waved the bloody shirt of mass shootings, ignoring mountains of data showing that so-called assault weapons (a media-invented term for scary-looking semi-autos) are used in a tiny fraction of crimes—less than 3% per FBI stats. Critics, including ranchers, hunters, and everyday carriers, rightly blasted it as feel-good theater that won’t stop criminals who don’t obey laws anyway. This isn’t legislation; it’s theater designed to virtue-signal while disarming law-abiding New Mexicans who rely on AR-15s for home defense, varmint control, and Olympic-style competition shooting.

Dig deeper, and the context reeks of political opportunism. New Mexico’s Dem supermajority, fresh off flipping the state purple, is mimicking blue-state playbooks from California to New York, where similar bans have done zilch to reduce violence but crushed small manufacturers and spiked black-market prices. Remember Illinois’ FOID card fiasco or Maryland’s mag ban lawsuits? Both are crumbling under SCOTUS scrutiny post-Bruen, which demands historical tradition for gun laws—something this bill hilariously lacks, as Founding-era analogs to modern rifles were the muskets of their day. The NRA and local groups like NM Shooters are already gearing up for court, and with whispers of gubernatorial support from Michelle Lujan Grisham, expect this to hit the House floor soon.

For the 2A community, this is a wake-up call: complacency kills. New Mexico gun owners need to flood capitol switchboards, pack hearings, and bankroll recalls or ballot initiatives. Nationally, it underscores the patchwork assault on our rights—win here, and it emboldens the bans in Colorado or Minnesota; lose, and it sets precedents for red states under siege. Stock up on compliant builds if you’re in NM, join GOA or FPC for the legal wars, and remember: the real assault is on your God-given right to self-defense. Stay vigilant, patriots—this fight’s just heating up.

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