Conservative legal group Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) and gun rights activists are challenging a new seven-day waiting period to buy a gun in New Mexico by filing a lawsuit with the National Rifle Association (NRA). The groups argue that the law, passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, infringes on citizens’ Second Amendment rights and their natural right to self-defense. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, names Grisham and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez as defendants.
The law, known as House Bill 129, requires a mandatory seven-day waiting period for the purchase of firearms, during which sellers must conduct a federal instant background check of the buyer. If the background check takes longer than seven days, the seller must wait until it is completed to transfer the firearm to the purchaser. Violators would be guilty of a misdemeanor. Grisham stated that the law aims to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands and address the issue of violent criminals being allowed to recommit. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that the Waiting Period Act burdens the right to keep and bear arms and that the state government cannot justify its regulation.
The lawsuit references the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which set a new standard for determining the constitutionality of gun restrictions. The government must show a historical tradition of firearm regulation that supports the law in question. The plaintiffs argue that the waiting period law delays law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to self-defense and protecting themselves, including victims of domestic violence who may need a firearm for protection. The NRA and MSLF are committed to challenging the law and seeking its invalidation by the federal courts.
The MSLF and NRA are teaming up to challenge New Mexico’s waiting period law, describing it as a clear violation of Second Amendment rights for law-abiding New Mexicans. The goal is to have the law declared unconstitutional and removed from state statutes. The NRA’s executive director expressed pride in working with MSLF to address what they see as an infringement on constitutional rights. The offices of the governor and attorney general have yet to respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. The Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense, and the waiting period law is seen as an obstacle to exercising this fundamental right, according to the groups involved in the legal challenge.
