FEDERAL COURT RULES ON NEW MEXICO’S SEVEN-DAY WAITING PERIOD

A New Mexico Federal Court made a decision on the 7-day waiting period that is confusing at best and is a clear violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the the U.S. Constitution at worst. 

The ruling states that two plaintiffs don't have to be subjected to the waiting period while other New Mexico citizens still are subject to the law. This means we all have to wait for our 2A rights while the plaintiffs get theirs by this decision. Ridiculous!

Here's a press release from the Mountain States Legal Foundation:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

FEDERAL COURT RULES ON NEW MEXICO’S SEVEN-DAY WAITING PERIOD

Federal court enjoins enforcement of New Mexico’s firearms waiting period law for only the two named plaintiffs in Ortega v. Grisham, but allows government to delay the exercise of Second Amendment rights for all other citizens of New Mexico 

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (August 28, 2026) — Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) and its Center to Keep & Bear Arms is disappointed to announce a decision in Ortega v. Grisham that leaves New Mexico’s seven-day firearm waiting period largely in place. 

New Mexico’s waiting-period law requires nearly every firearm purchaser to wait seven days before taking possession of a firearm—even after completing the required background check. MSLF represents New Mexico residents Samuel Ortega and Rebecca Scott, who challenged the law as a violation of their Second Amendment rights.  

The case began in May 2024, when MSLF filed a complaint and motion for a preliminary injunction on behalf of Ortega and Scott.  Two months later, U.S. District Court Judge James O. Browning denied the request, finding that the plaintiffs had not established that the waiting period law was unconstitutional. MSLF appealed that decision. 

In August 2025, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a significant ruling in the case. The court held that the Second Amendment protects the right to acquire firearms and concluded that New Mexico had failed to demonstrate a historical tradition supporting its seven-day waiting period law. The Tenth Circuit sent the case back to the district court in Albuquerque for further proceedings.  

Yesterday, Judge Browning issued a final judgment in the case. Although the judge stated that he continued to believe that the waiting period law was constitutional, he acknowledged that he was “bound by the Tenth Circuit’s decision and the law of the case.” As a result, he permanently prohibited New Mexico from enforcing the waiting-period law against Ortega and Scott. 

So, while this ruling provides a total victory for our clients, it appears to leave millions of other law-abiding New Mexicans seemingly still subject to the same seven-day waiting period.  

For that reason, MSLF strongly disagrees with the court’s watered-down ruling. 

“Unfortunately, Judge Browning decided to take King Solomon up on his ‘great’ idea to split the baby. Big mistake,” said Michael McCoy, Director of MSLF’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms. “What a mess this is going to cause! All Judge Browning’s decision is going to do is create mass confusion among individual citizens and gun store owners in New Mexico over the status of the law. The decision prevents the state from enforcing the waiting period law against our two named plaintiffs, but leaves open the ability of the state to enforce the law against the other 2.12 million people who live in New Mexico. Will each of them need to bring their own individual lawsuits to acquire a similar injunction? Ridiculous! In trying to reach some sort of middle ground, the district court has failed to do what the 10th Circuit made clear needed to be done … declare New Mexico’s waiting period law unconstitutional and permanently enjoin enforcement of it except as to those individuals whose background checks have not yet cleared.” 

MSLF strongly disagrees with the court’s decision. Except for our two named plaintiffs, New Mexico may continue to impose an arbitrary seven-day delay on law-abiding citizens exercising their constitutional right—even after they have completed the required background check. The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms; it does not give the government permission to decide when that right may be exercised. 

While this decision is not the clear and complete victory we were hoping for, it is not the end of the fight. MSLF will continue defending the Second Amendment and will consider every available avenue to ensure that the constitutional rights of law-abiding New Mexicans are fully protected. 

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