FIRST ON FOX — A conservative legal group and gun rights activists have teamed up to challenge the new seven-day waiting period to buy a gun in New Mexico.
The Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) joined the National Rifle Association (NRA) in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, claiming New Mexico is depriving citizens of their Second Amendment rights and their natural right to self-defense. The groups argue in court papers that the waiting period law passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is unconstitutional.
“This arbitrary law is just the latest attempt by Governor Grisham and his anti-gun comrades in the New Mexico Legislature to limit the Second Amendment rights of their law-abiding constituents,” said Mike McCoy , director of the Center to Keep and Bear Arms. at MSLF.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico names Grisham and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez (D) as defendants.
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New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at the New Mexico State Capitol on January 30, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Grisham signed HB 129 into law in March, establishing a mandatory 7-day waiting period to purchase firearms. (Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
Grisham signed House Bill 129 in March, and it took effect Wednesday, establishing a mandatory seven-day waiting period for gun purchases. During this time, sellers are required to conduct an instant federal background check on the buyer. If the background check takes more than seven days, the seller must wait to transfer the firearm to the buyer until the background check is completed.
Violators would be convicted of a misdemeanor, according to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety.
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“This legislation strikes at the heart of the issues that keep New Mexicans up at night,” Grisham said in a statement after signing the bill. “We lose far too many lives when guns fall into the wrong hands and violent criminals are allowed to reoffend again and again. This legislation addresses both issues.”
In court documents, plaintiffs Paul Samuel Ortega and Rebecca Scott, both New Mexico residents, claim the waiting period law “encumbers the right to keep and bear arms.” The plaintiffs also claim that the state government “could never fulfill its burden of establishing a historical analogue to justify its regulation.”
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Several AR-15 style rifles are displayed for sale at a gun store. Under New Mexico law, gun dealers must wait seven days and complete a federal background check before transferring a purchased firearm to a buyer. (Reuters/Bing Guan)
The lawsuit references the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which set a new standard for determining whether a gun restriction is unconstitutional. To meet this standard, the government must demonstrate that there is a “historical tradition of gun regulation” that supports the type of law in question.
Since Bruen, a slew of federal and state gun control measures have been challenged in court with mixed results.
“The Second Amendment protects the private right of individuals to keep and bear arms for purposes of self-defense; but this ridiculous waiting period law delays the ability of law-abiding citizens to exercise this God-given right.” , McCoy told Fox News. Digital.
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Firearms are displayed at a store during the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival on October 9, 2022 in Greeley, Pennsylvania. The Mountain States Legal Foundation and the National Rifle Association have joined together to challenge New Mexico’s waiting period law on constitutional grounds. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“Forcing victims of domestic violence who need a gun for protection to wait seven days to acquire one is wrong, and let’s hope their attackers also wait a week before attacking again,” he said. he added.
“The NRA is proud to partner with the Mountain States Legal Foundation to challenge New Mexico’s waiting period law,” said Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA’s Legislative Action Institute. “This new law is a blatant violation of the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Mexicans, and the NRA is committed to ensuring that this unconstitutional law is expunged from state statutes.”
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The MSLF said the plaintiffs “seek nothing less than a complete invalidation of the law by the federal courts and a return to constitutional sensitivity.”
The governor’s and attorney general’s offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment.