With a promise from Gov. Bill Richardson to sign, the New Mexico State legislature passed a measure to legalize licensed concealed carry in a state where the Supreme Court last year ruled a previously-passed law unconstitutional.
This time, however, sponsors of joint legislation in the Senate and House assured Gun Week that the law will stand.
Passage did not come easily, acknowledged state Sen. Shannon Robinson (D-Albuquerque), sponsor of SB-23 and state Rep. John Heaton (D-Carlsbad), who authored concurrent HB-916. They had to accept an amendment that raised the minimum age for obtaining a concealed pistol license (CPL) to 25 years, and a reduction in the lifespan of the permit from four years down to two. However, both said that once the law is proven effective, and that its critics are shown to be in the wrong, state lawmakers can go back and amend the statute, to bring down the age and possibly extend the CPL lifespan to the original four years.
“Everyone has to look at this as a foothold,” Robinson said. “The purpose is to prove you know what you’re doing; you know what you’re talking about.”
Robinson insisted that the “real news” is the fact that the measure was pushed by two pro-gun Democrats, and it had the support of a pro-gun Democratic governor. Richardson is a former US congressman from New Mexico’s 3rd District, US Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary in the Clinton Administration.
Heaton gave most of the credit for CPL passage to Robinson’s efforts over the past several years.
“He (Robinson) has been the champion of it and really deserves all the credit for getting it through,” Heaton stated. “I jumped on board with him this year to see if we couldn’t get it through the House.”
It has been in the state House of Representatives where similar bills have traditionally bogged down. That almost became the case this time around, too, as opposition, while in the minority, was no less intense than it has been previously. According to The Santa Fe New Mexican, anti-gun House Majority Leader Danice Picraux (D-Albuquerque) called the legislation “absolute madness.” She forecast increased violence and gun accidents.
“It’s always the same arguments,” Heaton countered, “over and over again. . . . I think responsible people will get licenses and conduct themselves in a responsible manner.”
He said legally-armed citizens are not the problem, and he was pleased with the number of citizens who testified in hearings on the legislation. They included victims of rape and robbery, and people who had been held at gunpoint.
Robinson would not tell Gun Week whether he would obtain a CPL, noting that this is a private matter for each citizen, and that confidentiality of licensed citizens is paramount.
“The whole purpose of the act,” he observed, “is so nobody knows who has (guns), and nobody knows who doesn’t.”
He said the new law will result in “an 80-year-old grandmother” getting the same respect from a thug as any other citizen because criminals will not know who has a firearm.
Heaton said he had not even thought about it, but conceded that his wife had. He noted that the legislation will primarily benefit women, who will now be able to better defend themselves against criminal attack.
Both lawmakers lauded Richardson’s efforts in moving the legislation through. Robinson said that it was the governor who “made all the difference in the world.”
“He knows how to negotiate, and he knows how to keep his word and act upon it, and he also knows how to straighten people out who aren’t,” Robinson said.
“He was absolutely instrumental in all of this,” Heaton agreed. “Without his involvement, it would not have happened.”
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) will administer the CPL program. While the law takes effect July 1, Robinson said licenses will not be issued until Jan. 1, 2004, giving the DPS time to set up the program and determine whether it will issue licenses, or work through county sheriff’s departments.
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