A bill that would require universal background checks for almost all gun sales is a signature away from becoming law in New Mexico.
More than two-dozen sheriffs signed a letter opposing it, but the Albuquerque Police Department’s on board.
APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said police leaders have been advocating for stronger gun control measures since last year’s legislative session.
“We don’t want to do anything to take away from responsible, law-abiding gun owners,” he said. “At the same time, we do feel like it’s a public health crisis right now and we want to do something to address gun-related violence.”
Background checks are a tool for law enforcement. #SB8 and #HB8 help us keep communities safe from gun violence. #nmleg #endgunviolence
— Albuquerque Police Department (@ABQPOLICE) March 2, 2019
Gallegos said 69 percent of the homicides APD handled last year involved a firearm and that laws like this could be another tool for officers.
A bunch of New Mexico sheriffs have said they won’t enforce it. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham tweeted a response, saying “that’s now how oaths of office work.”
The background check bill is on its way to her desk. She’s said she’ll sign it.
A few law enforcement officers in this state have been making noise about how they won’t enforce gun safety measures because they don’t like them. That’s not how laws work, of course, and it’s not how oaths of office work either. But let’s move past that. #SB8
— Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) February 26, 2019
***
Support for KUNM’s Public Health New Mexico project comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the McCune Charitable Foundation, and from KUNM listeners like you.
