Federal judge upholds firearm waiting period requirement – NM Political Report

A federal district judge denied the National Rifle Association’s attempt to prevent New Mexico’s seven-day firearm waiting period law from being temporarily enforceable. U.S. District Judge James Browning issued his decision Monday denying a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction regarding HB 129 which was signed into law on March 4.  The bill establishes a […]

A federal district judge denied the National Rifle Association’s attempt to prevent New Mexico’s seven-day firearm waiting period law from being temporarily enforceable.

U.S. District Judge James Browning issued his decision Monday denying a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction regarding HB 129 which was signed into law on March 4. 

The bill establishes a seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases and closes a loophole that allows a firearm purchaser to obtain a firearm before a background check can be completed.

“The judge’s decision confirms that New Mexico’s waiting period is likely constitutional and allows it to remain in effect,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement Tuesday. “This 7-day cooling-off period makes our community safer by providing a critical buffer against impulsive firearms purchases and ensuring comprehensive background checks are completed. This law is a commonsense measure designed to reduce impulsive gun violence and address a federal background check gap.”

Firearm waiting period bill passes Senate 

Browning denied the NRA’s effort in three parts: that the case would not succeed on its merits because the Second Amendment does not cover firearm sales, the waiting period is “presumptively Unconstitutional” because it is a condition or qualification on firearm commercial sales and the waiting period is “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of commercial firearms regulations, which licensed and prohibited the sale of firearms to sections of the populace out of a concern that a purchaser might use the firearm to harm the public,”; the NRA and it’s fellow plaintiffs did not show Browning that “they are likely to suffer irreparable injury if the Court does not temporarily enjoin the Waiting Period Act… and the harm that they stand to suffer should they seek to purchase another firearm is slight; and that the plaintiffs’ did not “establish that the balance of the equities weighs in their favor nor that an injunction is in the public interest, because the Plaintiffs’ interest in purchasing a firearm without delay is minimal compared to the public’s interest in keeping the Waiting Period Act in effect.”

The law contains exemptions for concealed carry permit holders, federal firearms licensees, transactions between law enforcement officers and agencies, and immediate family members.