Jan. 24—Don’t take your guns to vote, son.

Gun owners in New Mexico would have to leave their firearms at home before going to a polling place or face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine under a bill that cleared its first legislative committee Wednesday morning.

Senate Bill 5, which would make it illegal to carry a firearm within 100 feet of a polling place, passed the Senate Rules Committee on a 7-4, party-line vote. The bill’s Republican critics said it infringes on the right to bear arms.

Democrats, however, described it as a public safety measure.

“Guns and elections just don’t mix,” said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, who is co-sponsoring the measure with another Santa Fe Democrat, Rep. Reena Szczepanski.

Wirth said the bill is intended to ensure the safety and fairness of elections for New Mexicans exercising their fundamental right to vote.

“It works towards eliminating threats of fear and intimidation while voting and levels the playing field,” he said. “Currently, if a polling place is in a school in New Mexico, firearms are banned. This bill would extend that to other locations outside of a school.”

Republicans said the bill would criminalize the lawful carrying of firearms.

“This unnecessary bill is predicated on anecdotes, and it’s clear that the real intent is to roll back the Second Amendment one chip at a time,” Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen, said in a statement issued immediately after the vote.

“With legislation like this, Senate Democrats continue to target law-abiding citizens instead of going after the criminals who have no regard for the law,” he said.

Violating the proposed prohibition would be a petty misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine, or both, Wirth said.

“This bill came to me from constituents working as poll workers here in Santa Fe, several of whom stopped working as poll workers based on guns being in polling places,” he said.

Republicans criticized the 100-foot buffer zone, saying it could suppress voter participation, especially in more rural areas where residents sometimes have to travel long distances to cast their ballots in person.

“Where I come from, people have weapons in their pickup trucks because they’re trying to protect their livestock,” said Sen. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell.

Nibert questioned the need for a 100-foot setback.

“If we’re just trying to keep it out of the polling place, let’s keep it out of the polling place,” he said.

Wirth said 100 feet is consistent with the Election Code’s prohibition on electioneering in front of a polling place.

“It would seem somewhat ironic if we banned someone from standing out there campaigning for Sen. Nibert in front of a polling place yet we have a demonstration with open rifles right outside the door of a polling place,” Wirth said.

Another concern with the bill is that criminals intent on doing harm would ignore the gun-free zones, making polling places more susceptible to mass shooters. During the hearing, Baca said the proposed prohibition creates a “big harm” for gun owners but pales in comparison to the other gun control measures the Legislature is poised to consider during the 30-day session, such as an assault weapons ban.

“New Mexicans better hold onto their hat[s] because it’s going to be something,” he said.

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, unsuccessfully advocated for an exemption for concealed carry permit-holders.

“If you can’t see it, then you can’t be afraid of it,” said Pirtle, who called the proposed exemption an “olive branch” to Republicans.

A similar bill passed the Senate last year but “just ran out of time on the House floor,” Wirth said.

Wirth said the bill passed the chamber last year with “bipartisan support.” While technically true, only one Republican, Sen. Crystal Brantley of Elephant Butte, voted in support of the measure.

This year’s bill addresses “very legitimate” issues raised last year over when a polling place is on private property, he added.

If someone walked past the door of a polling place to get to a post office or business, “they can do that under this exception,” Wirth said. “We don’t just create a 100-foot zone around every private property.”

Wirth noted elections will be held across the country this year and include what is shaping up to be hotly contested presidential race.

“As we head into another turbulent election cycle,” he said, “I think having consistency when it comes to banning guns in polling places is important.”

Tara Mică, state director of the National Rifle Association of America, said the pro-gun rights group appreciated some of the changes made to the proposed legislation since last year but still has concerns.

“Generally, we oppose the creation of gun-free zones, which criminals will ignore and law-abiding citizens will only be disarmed by,” she said.

The measure also drew opposition from a concealed carry permit-holder and the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association.

Zac Fort, the association’s legislative affairs officer, told committee members via Zoom it’s already a crime to brandish a firearm or threaten someone with a firearm.

“I would strongly agree with the author of the bill that voting is a very important right that we have as Americans, and we need to protect that right,” he said, adding the U.S. Supreme Court has held the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.

“Our right to carry a firearm and our right to vote are not inconsistent with one another,” he said. “I would also say that this bill could be seen as an attempt to disenfranchise people who wish to carry firearms while they exercise their right to vote, and both of them are constitutionally protected rights.”

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.