Commentary: Senate Bill 331, (SB 118), the “Background Check Reporting for Firearms” sponsored by Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-15- Bernalillo), today unanimously passed the Senate. The bill requires the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to electronically transmit information about people who are adjudicated mentally ill or committed to a mental institution to the FBI’s instant criminal background system.
“We need to keep firearms out of the hands of people who might do harm to themselves or others,” said Sen. Ivey-Soto. “This bill will do just that.”
“The Senate came together on a bipartisan basis and passed important legislation that strengthens our background check system, and makes our communities safer,” said Sen. Ivey-Soto. “I encourage the House to pass this legislation and send it to the Governor’s desk.”
The bill also makes a person adjudicated mentally ill or committed to a mental institution ineligible for a concealed handgun license. The individual, however, may petition the court to have the firearms-related ineligibility removed.
“This legislation recognizes the reality that our background check system is only as good as the records of the dangerous individuals that it contains, and this bill will help ensure that more of those records are in the system and fewer guns fall into the wrong hands,” said Americans for Responsible Solutions Co-Founder Captain Mark Kelly, a Navy combat veteran and former NASA astronaut. “We look forward to seeing this bill passed in a strong, bipartisan vote for common sense and sent to the Governor’s desk.”
The Ivey-Soto legislation is endorsed by Americans for Responsible Solutions, co-founded by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, New Mexicans Against Gun Violence, The New Mexico Department of Public Safety, and the National Rifle Association (The NRA). The bill now goes to the New Mexico House of Representatives.