March 4 (UPI) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a handful of public safety measures on Monday that strengthen restrictions on gun ownership and penalties for violent crimes.
The Democratic governor signed the four bills during a press conference at Albuquerque’s West Mesa High School, where in October two students were found in possession of firearms.
“This legislation strikes at the heart of issues that are keeping New Mexicans up at night,” Grisham said in a statement.
“We are losing far too many lives when guns get into the wrong hands and violent criminals are allowed to recommit again and again. This legislation addresses both.”
Among the legislation signed was Senate Bill 5, which prohibits carrying firearms within 100 feet of polling and ballot dropoff locations, with exceptions in place for those with concealed-carry permits.
With the passing of the law, New Mexico joins 11 other states as well as Washington, D.C., which have bans on guns in polling stations, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
“Guns and voting are a toxic mix,” New Mexico Senate majority leader Peter Wirth, a Democrat, said in a statement. “As elections have become known targets for threats and intimidation, it’s important we are enacting this legislation ahead of the upcoming election cycle.”
Grisham also signed House Bill 129 into law that doubles the current state waiting period to purchase a weapon to seven days, which also includes exemptions for concealed-carry permit holders and those with a Federal Fire Arms License, as well as law enforcement.
The two violent crime-related bills Grisham signed Monday were S.B. 96, which strengthens penalties for 2nd-degree murder-related offices, and S.N. 271, which mandates judges to hold certain violent defendants without bond if they are accused of having committed another felony while out on bond for a previous violent offense.
“It’s time we treat crime like the serious problem it is in New Mexico,” Grisham said published on X, along with a picture of herself during the Monday news conference.
“That’s why today I signed four bills that will help make our state safer.”
In September, following the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy at a baseball game, Grisham declared gun violence a public health emergency in an effort to reduce violence and have local officials request emergency state funding to tackle the problem.
She also initiated the Bernalillo County Violence Crime Reduction Operation for that area, which, as of Jan. 31, has resulted in more than 4,800 arrests and the seizure of nearly 350 firearms.
According to statistics from the governor’s office, New Mexico’s firearm-related death rate has climbed 87% from 2011 to 2021.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Laguna Pueblo woman is the front runner to be New Mexico’s next governor.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, Deb Haaland was declared the winner over Bernalillo County district attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s semi-open Democratic Party primary. As of 11:00 p.m., Haaland carried support from 72% of the Democratic primary voters to Bregman’s 28%, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
“We’re showing everyone that a better future in New Mexico is possible,” she told supporters gathered in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza. “New Mexicans want a leader who will stand up for working people, and who is ready to take on Donald Trump. I proudly accept your nomination as a Democratic nominee.”
Haaland spoke for 13 minutes, at times through a scratchy throat that required her to pause for water breaks. “Excuse me, I’ve been talking with voters all day,” she said while grabbing a water bottle before hitting her campaign stump notes on affordability, health care and public safety.
She will face Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor from suburban Rio Rancho that won his party’s three-way primary with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
Haaland will be the Democratic Party nominee in a state dominated at every level by Democrats, and is expected to be heavily favored in the general election. With that insight she said her campaign message does translate to Republicans and Independent voters.
“We want our kids to thrive. We want our kids to have a quality, public education. We want every New Mexican to have health care. Everybody wants to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and everybody wants to be able to afford to put a hot meal on their table every night and have a roof over their children’s heads,” she said. “Those issues transcend whatever political spectrum we’re trying to slice and dice people into.”
Shortly after the race was called, Haaland campaign staff, major donors, surrogates, and their families walked from a building on the west side of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza to the historic plaza core, where the Haaland campaign had set up a stage and reserved the entire plaza for its victory celebration.
“We are now witnessing history in the making,” New Mexico state Rep. Derrick Lente (Sandia Pueblo) said to supporters immediately after Haaland was declared the winner.
Denise Wilie (Dine) also joined the celebration of Haaland’s victory. Wilie said she worked on get-out-the-vote efforts with the Native American Voters Alliance in McKinley County.
“It just is so exhilarating to even think about, a woman and a Pueblo woman,” she said. “Indigenous all the way, is how I feel. I’m like, yes, let’s get more of our voices.”
Haaland was introduced by her two sisters and walked to the stage escorted by a mariachi band.
Speaking to reporters after the event Haaland reflected on voting for a Pueblo woman (herself) for governor.
“I got emotional, quite frankly, when I went to vote for myself because you do that when you’re a candidate,” she said. “We’ve never had a Native American governor in New Mexico. We’re a multicultural state. I think representation matters, especially in a political era such as this one. So, I’m really proud and honored to carry on the legacy of my ancestors, who worked so incredibly hard to make sure that I had a place here today.”
When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
But they don’t have to do it alone thanks to an organization helping New Mexico families with some of those burdens.
Watch the video above for more.
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