The City Council recently voted down Resolution R-20-68 that would have urged the New Mexico Legislature to rip the state firearms preemption language from the New Mexico Constitution.  That important language, found in Article II Section 6, provides that “No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms.”  Now, just two weeks later, the City Council is set to consider two ordinances which violate that very provision of the state constitution!

Ordinance O-19-82 mandates locked storage requirements for any firearms outside your immediate possession or control, with fines and/or jail time for violations.  Requiring all firearms out of arm’s reach to be stored with a lock or in a locked container will render them useless in self-defense situations and most recreational or competitive shooting scenarios.  New Mexico already has a child abuse/endangerment statute that gives law enforcement and district attorneys the tools to charge and prosecute parents or guardians in appropriate cases when their child gains unauthorized access to a firearm and commits a crime or injures himself or another.  This ordinance is expected to be considered at the Council’s meeting on Monday, September 21, at 3:00 pm.

Ordinance O-19-83 bans firearms at any building owned or leased by the city for conducting business with the public, including city hall, city libraries, city community centers, city parks and recreation facilities.  This would negate your right to carry and protect yourself in these taxpayer-owned buildings and facilities and nullify your state-issued concealed handgun license in countless locations.  Criminals would ignore these newly-created gun-free zones that leave law-abiding citizens defenseless.  This measure is expected to be considered at the Council’s meeting on Monday, September 21, at 3:00 pm.

If you haven’t done so already, please contact each of the members of the Albuquerque City Council BEFORE 1:00 PM ON MONDAY and let them know you OPPOSE O-19-82 & O-19-83.  

District 1: Councilor Sena – lansena@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3183
District 2: Councilor Benton – ibenton@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3186
District 3: Councilor Pena – kpena@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3127
District 4: Councilor Bassan – bbassan@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3101
District 5: Councilor Borrego – cynthiaborrego@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3189
District 6: Councilor Davis – patdavis@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3152
District 7: Councilor Gibson – dgibson@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3136
District 8: Councilor Jones – trudyjones@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3106
District 9: Councilor Harris – dharris@cabq.gov | (505) 768-3123

Information on how to submit written comment to the Councilmembers in advance of the September meetings, and how to participate via Zoom to offer verbal testimony at these meetings, can be found below. 

Note: Council meeting agendas will be posted at 3:00 pm on the Friday before the next meeting.

Written Comments: The Council will take general public written comment on the meeting’s specific agenda items via email through 1:00 pm on the day of the meeting.  Web form submission for public comment can be found here. These comments will be distributed to all Councilors for review in advance of the meeting.

Virtual, Live Comments: The Council will take general public comment on any topic, including agenda items, up to a maximum of 15 people, on a first-come, first-served basis. To provide real-time verbal public comment over Zoom, participants must sign-up for public comment by 1:00 pm the day of the Council meeting, but sign-up will start as soon as the Council agenda is posted, at 3:00 pm the Friday before the Council meeting. The sign-up sheet can be accessed here.

Sincerely,
NRA-ILA