Feb. 7—A bill imposing a seven-day waiting period before anyone could legally buy a gun in New Mexico is on its way to the Senate floor.

And with just seven days left in this year’s 30-day legislative session, that means House Bill 129, which already cleared the House of Representatives, has the best chance of making it to the finish line out of a batch of bills to tighten New Mexico’s gun laws that were introduced this year but most of which seem to have stalled.

HB 129 sponsor Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, said one purpose of the bill is to set “a critical waiting period for those who may do harm to themselves or others who may be in crisis.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved the bill by a 6-3 vote Wednesday evening along party lines, also unanimously approved an amendment that, among other measures, carves out an exemption to the law for those who already have concealed carry permits.

The amendment also did away with a provision in the original bill that said a firearms dealer must keep hold of a gun until the background check is completed, even if it takes beyond the seven-day waiting period.

Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, who pitched the amendment, said under that provision it’s possible some people would never be able to purchase a firearm if the federal background check system never completes the check for reasons that may have nothing to do with a criminal background. His amendment would allow the firearm seller to turn over the gun to the buyer after 30 days if the background check is not completed in that time.

However, another amendment proposed by Cervantes to raise the seven days to 14 days — similar to provisions in a Senate bill he is sponsoring — failed to win the rest of the committee’s support and was voted down.

Romero’s original bill included a 14-day waiting period but was amended on the House floor when it was debated and approved late last week. Cervantes said a longer waiting period could allow for “a greater emphasis on background checks.”

Romero has called HB 129 a bill that will save lives and said it’s necessary to give people who may want to buy a gun to harm themselves or others a cooling-off period to rethink their decision. A waiting period would also give law enforcement more time to intercede or find out if someone has not cleared a background check, she said.

Opponents said the law would put people who want to buy guns to protect themselves from domestic violence or a stalker at risk as they wait.

Any sale violating the provisions of the bill, if it becomes law, would result in a misdemeanor charge — punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine — for each offense. Gun sales between immediate family members are exempt from the law.

HB 129 is one of several gun measures that have dominated discussion during this year’s 30-day legislative session as lawmakers wrestle with gun violence and crime.

So far, it’s the only one of those bills to be in position for final approval on the Senate floor, an action that could take place within a few days. Assuming the Democratic-controlled Senate passes it, HB 129 would then go to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk for her signature. She has already voiced her approval of the bill.

According to the bill’s fiscal impact report, the state Department of Health reported 550 firearm-related deaths in New Mexico in 2022, including 295 suicides. The report cited a 2023 meta-analysis by the Rand Corp. of research on the effects of gun policies in the United States. That study found “moderate evidence” waiting periods decrease firearm suicides and overall homicides and “limited evidence” they decrease total suicides and firearm homicides.

Sen. Greg Baca, R-Belen, said he finds seven days to be a “completely arbitrary” number that has little science behind it to prove it would make a real difference.

Baca unsuccessfully proposed an amendment that would exempt active-duty military personnel and members of the state National Guard from the law, saying it is “hypocritical” to not allow people who have been given “essentially a license to kill” to buy a gun in the state.

Romero said some veterans might be among those who want to “do harm to themselves” and thus she opposed the amendment, as did Cervantes, who pointed out mass shooter Robert Card of Maine was a U.S. Army reservist.

Baca said the bill “goes after the citizens” of the state who are law-abiding gun owners, a point Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, echoed when he called the law “ridiculous” and “a direct attack on my culture.”

“Seven days, 14 days — doesn’t matter,” Pirtle said.