New Mexico’s gun control push just got louder, and so did the backlash.
Over the weekend, Senate Democrats advanced Senate Bill 17, a wide-ranging gun control package that would ban common semi-automatic firearms, .50-caliber rifles, and standard-capacity magazines.
The bill passed the Senate on a narrow 21–17 vote and now heads to the House, where gun rights groups say the real fight begins.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms wasted no time calling out the bill as political theater dressed up as public safety.
“Senate Bill 17 would ban semi-automatic firearms and original capacity magazines,” said CCRKBA Managing Director Andrew Gottlieb. “But it’s not going to prevent criminals from committing crimes. All it does is create the false impression lawmakers are doing something, while adding new burdens on firearms retailers and the law-abiding gun owners they serve.”
CCRKBA also slammed supporters for leaning on the familiar “weapons of war” talking point, noting that millions of Americans legally own the firearms targeted by the bill (including many New Mexicans) without incident.
Meanwhile, the NRA‑ILA echoed those concerns, warning that SB 17 goes far beyond bans and directly threatens the survival of local gun shops.
According to NRA-ILA, the bill would “severely undermine the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Mexicans” while imposing excessive and costly mandates on firearm dealers.
Those include invasive site-hardening security requirements, unrealistic 24-hour law-enforcement trace response deadlines, and harsh penalties for technical or paperwork errors, up to and including felony charges.
The legislation also raises serious privacy concerns. NRA-ILA warns SB 17 would centralize records containing purchaser identities and firearm serial numbers, putting lawful gun owners into a government database with little assurance against misuse or breach.
Introduced by Senators Micaelita Debbie O’Malley, Andrea Romero, and Heather Berghmans, SB 17 spans 17 pages and would criminalize ownership of firearms and magazines commonly owned across the country. All while supporters openly acknowledge the bill will not impact criminals.
Both CCRKBA and NRA-ILA are urging New Mexico gun owners to contact their representatives as the bill moves to the House.
As NRA-ILA put it, the organization remains “on the ground in the Roundhouse working to defeat this extreme legislation.”
For New Mexico gun owners, the message is clear: SB 17 isn’t about crime. It’s about control. And the clock is ticking.
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