Las Cruces Sun-News

SANTA FE - Sheriffs across much of the state are opposed to a proposal from Democratic lawmakers that would allow police or relatives to ask a court to temporarily take away guns from people who might hurt themselves or others, a New Mexico Sheriffs' Association official said.

Sierra County Sheriff Glenn Hamilton, a legislative liaison for the group, said Wednesday that members want to ensure gun owners keep their due process protections. He said no compromise was reached so far with lawmakers on the so-called red flag legislation.

Opposition from elected law enforcement officials may portend a repeat of last year's caustic debates about gun control at the Statehouse, where the annual 30-day legislative session begins Jan. 21. Gun control proposals in 2019 spawned a Second Amendment sanctuary movement in mainly rural areas of New Mexico, where sheriffs presented resolutions to their county commissions saying they would not be required to enforce the new laws.

Hamilton said sheriffs are concerned that red flag laws would be ineffective and produce unintended consequences by undermining constitutional protections.

“There are existing laws on the books that allow for law enforcement to investigate those individuals engaged in a mental health crisis,” Hamilton said, describing procedures for establishing probable cause and arranging transportation to medical treatment. “I would much rather just transport that person than take away one mechanism (gun) unconstitutionally and leave him with knives and explosives and anything else that will allow him to carry out his ill will.”

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have some sort of red flag law, with most enacting them starting in 2018, gun control groups said.

Supporters of red flag laws say they reduce gun violence, including suicides, and lessen the risk of mass shootings. Gun rights supporters contend they violate not only the right to own firearms but other constitutional guarantees, including the rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham threw her political weight behind efforts to enact red flag gun provisions this year.

“Without this tool, you can't have law enforcement engage before a horrific tragedy,” Lujan Grisham said at a news conference Wednesday in Las Cruces.

Democratic Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces filed the red flag measure, which closely mirrors legislation the House approved last year but never reached the Senate floor for a vote.

New Mexico last year extended background-check requirements to nearly all private gun sales and prohibited firearms possession for people under permanent protective orders for domestic violence.

The governor and Senate Democratic majority leader Peter Wirth have invoked the August 2019 mass shooting in neighboring El Paso, Texas, as evidence of the need for further reform.

Leading Republicans in the House minority have vowed to protect gun rights during the upcoming legislative session.

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