New Mexico Gov. Grisham Signs Gun Background Checks Into Law

Ignoring 25 out of 33 New Mexico county sheriffs and almost the exact number of counties declaring themselves a "Second Amendment Sanctuary County", Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law an expanded background check law.

According to The Hill:

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Friday signed a bill requiring background checks on almost all firearm sales in the state. 

The legislation makes it a misdemeanor to sell a firearm to almost anyone without a background check, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. 

The bill, which is opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), will go into effect in July.

“It’s clear to me that the NRA isn’t going to stop trying to meddle in making this a safer state,” Lujan Grisham said Friday. “We all have a constitutional right to be safe in our homes and our communities,” she later added. 

Gun store owners and those with federal firearm licenses are now required by law to conduct background checks before selling a gun. 

All other sales, including those between people over the internet, will require a background check through a federal firearms license holder. 

Sales between law enforcement officers or immediate family members will not be subject to the background checks required by the legislation.

Of all the gun control bills that the Democrats passed in the New Mexico legislature, this one on background checks bothers me the least. If there's a gun registration database established by this law, it is illegal according to federal law. That's a main concern of gun owners, you can trust liberals in government to pull a fast one. What firearms one owns is really none of the government's business.

The Firearm Owners' Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) is a United States federal law that revised many provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968. As such, FOPA makes it illegal for the national government or any state in the country to keep any sort of database or registry that ties firearms directly to their owner.

Above, one of our "rogue" sheriffs.

The reason why I am not too bothered by this law is that I am used to background checking in California. I bought several guns in California while a resident and went through the process there. I had no problems with it, except for the annoying ten-day waiting period before one can take possession of the purchased gun.

As far as this law is concerned, the sheriff of any given county wouldn't be involved with the background checks as they are done through the gun dealer. The way I see it, a gun dealer would be in hot water if they sell a gun under this new law without a background check and their firearms dealer license would be in jeopardy from the state attorney general. But, we shall see what transpires.

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