SB 224: Lock Up Your Guns or Face State Charges. Teach Your Kid Firearm Safety and Possibly Face State Charges
Dear New Mexico NRA Member:
Another legislative session -- another ineffective, intrusive and unenforceable gun control proposal. You wonder what they'll come up with next? Well, here it is: Senate Bill 224, by Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-ABQ), who must be auditioning for anti-gun billionaire Bloomberg's support in her campaign for the 1st Congressional District.
SB 224 reads as follows: "It is an offense for a firearm owner or authorized user to store or keep a firearm in any premises unless the firearm is secured in a locked container or secured by a gun lock or other means so as to render the firearms inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the owner or authorized user."
You could be fined up to $500 for failing to render your firearm useless in the event you need it for protection. Or $1,000 if a minor, an "at risk" person or a prohibited person obtains the firearm. Both are misdemeanor penalties.
But, it doesn't stop there. The bill could actually make you a criminal if a minor were allowed access to your firearm, unless he or she is at least twelve years of age and has already successfully completed a firearms safety training course. So you could be charged with a misdemeanor for teaching your 10 year old how to shoot.
The chilling effect this type of legislation could have on youth shooting programs like 4-H and YHEC would be devastating. But that's exactly what the gun control crowd wants, to eradicate the next generation of responsible young gun owners. That and to leave you defenseless in your home, your vehicle or your place of business, because the state would require you to lock your gun up at all times.
The Senate Health & Public Affairs Committee will hear SB 224 on Wednesday at 1:30pm, or upon final adjournment of the Senate. Please contact members of the Senate committee and urge them to OPPOSE SB 224: Standing Committees - New Mexico Legislature (nmlegis.gov)
Please also make plans to testify virtually via Zoom against this terrible bill! Instructions from the committee for verbal and written public comment are as follows: Register to speak against SB 224 at https://ggle.io/3pe5. If there is a high volume of requests for public comment, not everyone may be able to speak. Send written comments in an email to SPAC@nmlegis.gov, with your Name, Entity Represented, SB 224, and that you're "Against" the bill. Written comments are limited to 300 words or less. The deadline to register and/or respond with written comment is Tuesday, February 16, at 5:00 p.m. If you register to testify, you will be contacted by the committee's Zoom Operator with the virtual meeting instructions. If you do not receive a response, check your junk email.
If you do not wish to testify but want to view committee proceedings once they have started, please go to the New Mexico Legislature's website http://www.nmlegis.gov and click on Webcast in the menu.
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