New Mexico
New Mexico House approves waiting period for firearm sales
Gun control took center stage once again at the Roundhouse Friday. House lawmakers spent several hours debating a proposed waiting period for all gun sales – one of the governor’s key public safety initiatives.
SANTA FE, N.M. — Gun control took center stage once again at the Roundhouse Friday. House lawmakers spent several hours debating a proposed waiting period for all gun sales – one of the governor’s key public safety initiatives.
The proposal, House Bill 129, cleared the House and is now moving to the Senate.
Democratic state Rep. Andrea Romero originally proposed a mandatory 14 business day waiting period for all gun sales in New Mexico – no exceptions. It’s meant to provide a sort of cooling-off period to allow for federal background checks to be completed.
The proposal faced several changes in the committee process, including updating the time frame to calendar days instead of business days, and adding an exception for immediate family members.
On Friday, House lawmakers went a step further and slashed the proposed waiting period down to seven days. That change narrowly made it through on a 35-34 vote. Supporters suggested it was meant to be a compromise.
“A seven-day waiting period, while less of an inconvenience on our legal, responsible gun owners, would help to prevent some of the suicides that occur during that impulsive 24-hour time period,” state Rep. Meredith Dixon said.
Republican lawmakers have criticized the proposal from the beginning, arguing a mandatory waiting period will not reduce crime or the number of suicides in New Mexico. Like all gun control proposals, they say it’s unconstitutional.
It seems cutting the proposed waiting period in half only ignited those arguments Friday.
“It went from 14, which seemed arbitrary, and now we’ve cut it in half down to seven and somehow that magically creates a beautiful balance,” said state Rep. Ryan Lane, House minority leader. “But again, if the underlying rationale is sometimes the inconvenience is worth saving a life, I don’t see why we would dare cut it in half.”
After three hours of debate, the House approved the amended proposal on a 37-33 vote – meaning several Democrats voted against the bill.
JUST IN: A proposed mandatory waiting period for firearm sales in New Mexico has crossed the halfway point.
House lawmakers amended the proposal reducing the waiting period from 14 days to 7 days before approving the bill on a narrow 37-33 vote. #nmlegis @KOB4
— Griffin Rushton (@GriffinRushton) February 2, 2024
It’s worth noting the Senate is expected to debate its own mandatory waiting period bill soon – potentially in the next few days. Their proposal is still at 14 days and includes more exceptions.
This post is brought to you by FanDuel, proud partner of SBNation.
Lobos most likely to join the Aztecs in MW Championship.
The voters picked Boise State over Utah State by the slimmest of margins… and that’s exactly what happened in the game on Friday, with the Broncos securing a one-point victory over the Aggies. With the win, they keep their conference championship hopes alive.
Utah State going bowling?
Fans went 2 for 2 this week predicting games. They picked New Mexico to beat San Diego State at home and that’s exactly what happened. Will it be enough for the Lobos to find a place in the MW Championship?
Dashcam shows moment UPS cargo plane crashed in Louisville
Dashcam video shows the UPS cargo plane crashing shortly past the runway of Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Two people were killed in a private plane crash in southern New Mexico ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The plane took off around 11:30 a.m. Nov. 26 and was scheduled to return to its “airport of origin” an hour later, according to New Mexico State Police.
Officials didn’t specify what airport that was, though they said the plane was last known to be near the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport, around 60 miles northeast of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
A family member of one of the passengers reported the plane missing after the person didn’t return from the flight, according to KOAT-TV in Albuquerque.
Search and rescue personnel found the plane on the morning of Nov. 27 near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, a small community within the Lincoln National Forest that’s just over a dozen miles away from the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport.
New Mexico State Police, the Alamogordo police and fire departments and New Mexico Search and Rescue were among the agencies involved in the effort.
The plane was found burned with two bodies inside. The names of the deceased were not immediately made public.
The incident was listed as an accidental crash on the National Transportation Safety Board’s incident database as of Nov. 28. An investigation is ongoing.
Incident follows other plane crashes in 2025
The New Mexico crash comes toward the end of a tumultuous year for aviation.
A mid-air collision between a commercial passenger jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killed 67 people in January. It marked the first high-profile commercial aviation crash since 2009, when a commercial plane crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing 50 people.
Two more people were killed several weeks after the Potomac River crash when two fixed-wing, single-engine planes crashed mid-air near Marana, Arizona.
Earlier in November, a UPS cargo plane burst into flames and crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 14 people.
Amid flight and airport chaos stemming from the historic government shutdown, President Donald Trump pledged on Nov. 10 that the United States would soon be “getting the finest air traffic control system anywhere in the world.”
Trump did not provide many details but said companies including IBM and Raytheon were bidding to build the new national infrastructure.
“…We’re going to pick the best one, and it’ll get built relatively quickly, and we’re going to have the greatest air traffic control system anywhere in the world,” he said.
Details affecting local, regional and national news events of the day are provided by the Eyewitness News 4 Team, as well as updates on weather and traffic.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The weather is expected to be quiet Friday with mostly sunny skies and temperatures a little warmer than usual.
A backdoor cold front will bring low temperatures into the teens and 20s overnight Saturday.
Some slick and icy roads are expected from snow across the northern and west central high terrain from Sunday night into Monday morning.
Early next week, colder weather will bring high temperatures slightly below average in western and central New Mexico.
Kanya Iwana’s Debut Feature ‘Ibu’ Explores Generational Trauma at JAFF Future Project
‘I Tried Super-Collagen Soup And Lost Two Sizes in a Month—At Age 66!’
Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard dies at 88
The 201 Black Friday deals you can still get
Antifa agitation turns violent in Germany, bolstering Trump administration’s foreign terror label
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Rep Troy Nehls, a Trump ally, will not seek re-election as twin brother announces campaign to replace him
EU weighs Plan B for Ukraine as Belgium raises bar on reparations loan
Northwestern settles with Trump administration in $75M deal to regain federal funding
Video: Meet the Theremin, an Instrument You Don’t Have to Touch to Play
USCIS halts ‘all asylum decisions’ after DC shooting of National Guard members
-
Science1 week agoWashington state resident dies of new H5N5 form of bird flu
-
Business5 days agoStruggling Six Flags names new CEO. What does that mean for Knott’s and Magic Mountain?
-
World1 week agoUnclear numbers: What we know about Italian military aid to Ukraine
-
Politics2 days agoRep. Swalwell’s suit alleges abuse of power, adds to scrutiny of Trump official’s mortgage probes
-
Ohio4 days agoSnow set to surge across Northeast Ohio, threatening Thanksgiving travel
-
Southeast1 week agoAlabama teacher arrested, fired after alleged beating of son captured on camera
-
News1 week agoAnalysis: Why Democrats are warning about Trump giving illegal orders | CNN Politics
-
Business1 week agoFormer Google chief accused of spying on employees through account ‘backdoor’